Let Me Hold You
by mandorac
Summary: Mostly canon Fabrevans, starting from Silly Love Songs, S2, except Sam/Quinn never broke up. This story will explore more in-depth how Sam dealt with his family's financial crisis & how Quinn helped him, then how he helps her. Co-authored w/GleekFreak13.
1. Chapter 1

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee except a beach towel.**

Quinn stood at her locker, switching out books and notebooks, checking her makeup in the small mirror. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and she looked back. Finn stood there with a sheepish grin, then shoved something in her hand and took off. She looked back after him, lumbering down the hallway, rolled her eyes a bit, then looked in her hand. He had slipped her a note, slightly sweaty from being gripped in his palm. She peeled it open and all it said was _meet me on stage tmrw at 4_. She sighed.

She had been dating Sam for the past four or five months, since their duet for Glee Club. He had been hurt in a football game and after his recovery was sidelined most games just to be safe. Finn was starting quarterback and had recently thrown the game-winning touchdown pass to Puck to win the area tournament final, something that hadn't been accomplished at McKinley in years. She had to admit, right after the game it was thrilling to see all the attention Finn received in the hallways and in class and at lunch. In a moment of weakness, she had kissed him one afternoon in the deserted hallway but had immediately regretted that decision, especially after meeting up with Sam later that night to study their Spanish together. Sam had made her laugh with his goofy impressions (done in Spanish, no less) and she couldn't stop staring at his blue eyes. When Sam left her house that night, he kissed her softly on the cheek at the door. She completely forgot about kissing Finn.

Now, she stood at her locker, holding the crumpled up note in her hand with Finn's blocky handwriting. She knew what she had to do.

_xxxxx_

The next day after school, she stood at Sam's beat-up car in the parking lot, talking about their plans for the weekend. He said he wanted to take her someplace that was a surprise and hoped she liked it. They talked a little about school and their classes, Glee Club, their families. Before she knew it, she was sitting next to Sam on the front seat, it was 4:15, and he had to be at his part-time pizza delivery job at 4:30. She kissed him goodbye, a lingering kiss on the lips. When they broke the kiss, neither pulled away but just stared at one another, him gazing into her hazel eyes and her into his blue eyes. For the briefest of moments, she wondered what color eyes their kids would have. At that thought, she inhaled sharply, whispered _goodbye_, and slipped out of his car. She waved as he pulled away, and she turned and headed into the auditorium.

She crept through the dressing rooms backstage, then stepped lightly onto the stage. There at center stage, sitting casually on the floor next to a microphone stand, was Finn. He quickly stood up when he saw her.

"You're late," he said.

She walked onto the stage, closer to him. "I had Bible study after school," she lied. Looking at Finn now, she knew he'd always hold a special place in her heart but her heart was set on Sam Evans. "I was praying for the strength..."

"To meet me here?"

"To stay away..."

They eyed each other and slowly circled the mic stand. "Is it possible to love two people at the same time?" she asked him.

He shook his head _no_ and whispered the word. "You don't love Sam."

She responded quickly. "I _think_ I love Sam..."

"Your boyfriend's a boy..."

"You know that meeting you here makes me a cheater..." she said softly.

He was silent as he took that in.

"And I refuse to be a cheater, Finn. I'm sorry that I kissed you after your big win; it was wrong. We can only be friends now. I _am _in love with Sam," Quinn said resolutely. Finn stared at her, open-mouthed. "I've gotta go..."

She turned and fled the auditorium.

_xxxxx_

She rushed home and to her bedroom to escape her mother's drunkenness and to think. She shocked even herself when speaking to Finn and telling Finn that she loved Sam. That was the very first time she had said it out loud. In a way, she was angry with herself...she should've said it the first time to Sam, not to Finn. She lay on her bed thinking about Sam. Why did she blurt out that she loved him?

He always made her smile, even when she felt her worst. At first, she found him dopey, goofy, maybe a bit immature, but, as she got to know him better, she realized that he was actually very intelligent in his comedy. She also realized that he was nervous around her to begin with and that was his way of dealing with it. Eventually, though, he learned to hold conversations with her and the joking around was replaced with chatting. He could always tell when she needed to smile and the impressions would come out or some nerdy reference to Star Wars or Avatar would be made.

Also, he was undeniably handsome in his own unique way. She knew that the very first day she saw him, when Mr. Schue introduced him to the Glee Club after his shoulder injury. He jogged into the choir room, much like a dork, but then he smiled and she melted inside. She kept her cool facade, not wanting to let anyone know that she thought he was hot, but damn, that smile. His eyes had swept the room, checking out the rag-tag group, and he briefly hesitated when his eyes fell on her. She sat up straight, then, feeling a spark between them. He lost his duet partner, Kurt, and approached her, asking to be her partner. Being the HBIC at the time, she declined him, not really wanting to but doing so to not mar her reputation. She was convinced by Rachel of all people to do the duet with Sam and changed her mind and was she ever glad she did. They practiced their duet-he already had the song in mind-and, for once, since the pregnancy debacle of the year previously, she felt at ease around someone and let her guard down. They won the duet competition and went to Breadstix to celebrate. She sat there, prim and proper, picking at her salad, watching him carefully. He sat there, a bit hunched over, still in awe that they had actually won. He tried his Matthew McConaughey impression on her, then opened his big mouth about her predicament the year before and how embarrassed he would've been. He could tell by the look on her face in response to his statement that maybe no one had ever said anything like that to her. She _was_ shocked, shocked that he had been so candid with her, but she let it go after he apologized and besides that blue shirt was making his blue eyes pop and she couldn't really concentrate on anything else. Of course, then he said he knew what it was like to have a secret and she blurted out _so you are gay?_ because the rumors _had_ been swirling around McKinley. He recoiled a bit, shocked himself at that question, and denied it fervently. In fact, all he could think about sitting across from this beauty was when did he get to kiss her? to touch her? When she slid the gift certificates into her purse and he smiled his lopsided smile she knew she was hooked.

But what made her _love_ him was his arms. His gorgeous long muscular arms, strong arms, that held her when she needed holding. He held her when they danced together in the Glee musical numbers, he held her tightly at the Hudson-Hummel wedding reception, he held her before their sectional competition when the anxiety hit her hard about performing, he held her next to the piano when Mr. Schue brought in their winning sectionals trophy. That day, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and they swayed a bit, him breathing in her scent, both lost in their own world. He held her at Christmas when she cried, realizing it was Beth's first Christmas. And he had held her that day, before she went to talk to Finn. She had always been proud of the fact that she didn't need anyone's support; she was her own strong self and she'd do things on her own but when Sam entered her life and held her in his arms she knew it was him that she had needed all along.

She heard the doorbell ring throughout the quiet house; she had fallen asleep. It rang again; she knew her mother must be passed out. It was 10:35 according to her clock so she pulled herself up off her bed to see who it was. She flipped on the porch light and squinted through the peephole. Sam stood there blinking in the sudden light, still in his work shirt and hat.

She opened the heavy door. "Sam?"

He had a look of concern on his face, worry almost. He pulled his cap off and gripped it tightly in his hands.

"You've been crying..." he said quietly.

"I was just sleeping and..." He cut her off and pulled her to him. She smelled the pepperoni and tomato sauce and garlic on his shirt from his job. He held her tightly and after a couple minutes felt her shaking against him, then the sniffling. He kissed her cheek softly. She looked up at him, tears running down her face.

"I love you, Sam," she whispered up to him. "I wanted you to be the first to know, but...but..."

He embraced her again. "It's okay, Quinn, I know. And I love you too."

_xxxxx_

If anyone had asked him that night what his favorite position was, he knew exactly how to answer them. It was not a position on the football field (though he did enjoy quarterbacking). It was most definitely not a sexual position (because he hadn't been in one of _those_ yet). It was being the person who wrapped their arms around Lucy Quinn Fabray. Instinctively, he knew that this was a girl who needed to be held, even if she said she didn't need a hug. Even though he was only 16 years and 2 weeks old, he felt the importance placed upon him when holding her. This girl he had met a few months ago who at first had been cold and distant toward him but soon opened up to him-he knew it was his impressions that did the trick-he knew she was special deep down and wasn't about to give up on her. Not at the beginning when she at first said no to singing a duet with him, not when she said it definitely wasn't a date when they went to Breadstix, not when she freaked out before their sectionals performance. And not now.

At work that night, he had been sitting outside the pizza joint waiting for a delivery to be called in, when Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman had pulled up in Puck's Jeep. Sam stood up from the curb he'd been sitting on when Finn stumbled out of the Jeep.

"Hey Salmon!" Finn laughed, looking over at Puck, who was not nearly as drunk as his friend.

"Guppy Lips, my boy Finn came to me wanting to get drunk tonight. Do you have any idea why?"

Sam was instantly on guard. Of course he had no idea why; he just didn't want any trouble at his job. He looked from Puck to Finn and back to Puck.

"I have no idea why..." he answered slowly.

Puck guffawed loudly and threw his arm around Finn's shoulders. "Seems your little lady turned down my man Finn today."

Sam was now totally confused. "What are you talking about, Puck?"

"Salmon! She said she...(burp)...loves _you_!" Finn slurred, pointing his long neck bottle at Sam. Sam could smell the beer strong on Finn's breath.

"So, Miss High and Mighty thought it'd be fun to smack a big wet one on ol' Finn after the game the other day. He thought it was leading somewhere and asked her to meet him today after school, which she did," Puck began explaining, still holding Finn up.

"She was with me after school," Sam replied, not wanting to believe any of it.

"_After_ after school," Finn said, belching again, then laughing. "In the autidorium." He then broke into a fit of giggles.

"So? She's a free citizen; she can do whatever she wants to do," Sam said.

"Well, she did alright. She told Finn he could basically go fuck himself because she loved you! Now look at him," Puck said. Sam did look at Finn then. He was totally disheveled, stumbling, his hair a mess.

"Anyone can tell he's got it bad for Rachel Berry," Sam said finally.

"You leave my Jewish princess out of this," Puck said defensively.

"It's true. The way he looks at her, how they sing together. Sorry, Finn, but Quinn's mine," Sam said, smiling a giant smile and clapping Finn on the shoulder. Finn had kind of drifted off but came to then.

"Oh sure, yeah, contragulations man...she's a great girl," Finn mumbled. Looking at Puck, he said, "Take me over to Berry's." Finn stumbled back to the Jeep, deciding then would be a fine time to relieve himself.

Puck looked back to Sam. Poking him in the chest, he muttered, "You take care of my babymama. If I hear you hurt her in any way, I'll shove my balls down your throat. Wait. I'll shove your _own_ balls down your throat. Yeah..."

Puck turned to his Jeep. "Aw man, don't piss on the Jeep dude!"

Sam stood there watching them drive away, wondering what in the hell had just happened.

_xxxxx_

From that night forward, Sam and Quinn's relationship was strengthened. They stood on her porch until she stopped crying, then they went inside and sat in her family room talking until he had to leave for home at midnight. She apologized many times over for kissing Finn, for even meeting with him privately. He reassured her that he understood and he accepted her apology on one condition...

"Kiss me like you mean it," he said, surprised at his courage to suggest such a thing.

They sat on the couch facing one another, and she looked at him and smiled a little. She took his face in her hands, his stubble prickly on her palms, and leaned into him, her eyes fluttering closed just as her lips touched his. She turned her head slightly, loving how his lips felt on hers. She felt his hands snake around her waist, pulling her in a little closer. She took the risk and parted her lips a bit and touched his lip with her tongue.

All he could think about was how her lips tasted like cherry, fruity and sweet. He was totally aware of his full lips and how they might overpower her dainty mouth so after thinking about cherry lip gloss for a while he switched gears and made sure not to engulf her mouth in his and that's when he felt her tongue brushing his lips. He hadn't expected that though he probably should have since they had been getting closer and closer and, god, they just told each other they loved each other. He did what felt natural and that was to open his mouth, only slightly, and touch his tongue against hers. It was soft and moist and her breath was sweet; he wondered what he tasted like? Hopefully not like the slice of sausage and green pepper pizza he had had for supper. He heard her make a noise that sounded like _mmm _and he jerked back suddenly.

"Um, I probably, uh, need to get home, you know, the parents..." he stammered, blushing furiously and looking down at his hands in his lap. She gazed back at him, seeing the rosiness of his cheeks, his eyes darting up to hers now and then.

"I'll walk you to the door, Sam," she said quietly, standing and offering her hand. He took her hand and let her lead him through her house to the front door, so thankful that he was behind her and she couldn't see the bulge in his pants. At the door, he stood stiffly in front of her, holding his hat in front of him.

"So, I'll call you tomorrow?" he asked her.

"That'd be great, Sam," she purred, leaning in to kiss him again. "Do you think I meant it?"

He was dumbfounded and then realized she was talking about her kiss. He smiled. "Definitely."

_xxxxx_

They quickly became the 'it' couple at McKinley. Sam's confidence was boosted, especially on the football field where Coach Beiste let him run more and more plays, gearing up for the next year. Deep down, he wanted to knock Finn out of the quarterback position during the next season. He knew Quinn would be on the sidelines cheering, and he wanted her to be proud of her boyfriend on the field. They walked down the halls as if they were royalty but really they were just very happy with one another and almost always had smiles plastered on their faces. He carried her books for her, pecked her on the cheek when seeing her off, left notes in her locker. She would surprise him during his study hall or lunch and always slipped her tiny hand into his whenever they met up.

On Valentine's Day, Sam took Quinn to Breadstix where he shyly presented her with a tiny promise ring. She was beaming as he slid it onto her right ring finger. It was cold in February in northern Ohio so after dinner they went back to her house and watched movies until he had to be home by midnight. They both squeezed into a recliner. He kept catching her staring at her right hand and the little ring. What she didn't know was he had gone to the pawn shop and hocked his guitar to get that ring. She thought his wages at the pizza place had bought it, but, no, all that money was going to his parents and that wasn't very much at all.

By watching movies, that meant they were making out in front of something on the TV. Her mother was out and if she had been home she'd have been secluded in her master suite, drunk. It always started innocently enough, his arm around her shoulders, she tucked into his side. Then, one of them would kiss the other and it'd fire up rapidly. They were getting to be more handsy with each other, more exploring, to Sam's never-ending delight. He had been lucky enough in the past to brush her boobs while tickling her one night but this night, Valentine's Day, while they were kissing each other's faces off, she reached for his hand planted on her hip and brought it up to her chest, lightly placing it on a breast. He looked at her in shock, his lips blood red from the kissing and his mouth agape, looking from her eyes down to his hand and back to her eyes. He gulped.

"This is-is okay?" he whispered.

She nodded in the affirmative. He kissed her again, urgently, leaving his hand in place over her sweater, feeling her with his fingers and squeezing gently. He felt the rise in his jeans but couldn't concentrate on that at the moment...not when he could feel her hard nipple underneath a couple layers of fabric. He shifted a bit to give himself some room below the belt and when he did the rub of the rough denim against his erection made him grunt into her mouth. He was mortified.

"I'm s-sorry," he mumbled, still squeezing her boob.

"S'okay, Sam," she whispered back to him. He watched her in a nearly comatose state as she reached up to the top button of her cardigan sweater and started unbuttoning it. He was still squeezing her boob the entire time.

"There," she said after unbuttoning four buttons. "How's that?"

"Umm...that's great, Q," he replied. She giggled a little, then took his hand off her boob, his mind screaming _noooooooo_ but then she moved his hand _inside_ her sweater. He held his breath. He felt a different kind of material, maybe lacy, dainty, triangular, and somewhere in his hormone-fueled mind he finally realized his hand was touching _her bra_. His hand shaking, he ran his thumb up and down over the hard nub he felt underneath her bra, then cupped her entire breast in his hand, sucking in his breath as he did so. Only one layer of clothing kept him from actually _touching_ her boob…did he dare it? Suddenly, he felt brave, _very _brave (probably from the throbbing in his pants), so he slid his fingers up the strap to her shoulder, then carefully placed his fingers under the strap.

Before pushing it down, though, always the gentleman, he asked her, "Can I?"

"Yes…"

Holding his breath again, he slowly pushed the strap off her shoulder and let it fall to her elbow. Looking back at her chest, that side of her bra was now gaping open. Later on, at home, he would think of how he had seen his first live-in-person booby that night, but, at the present moment, he was stunned.

The light from the TV cast a whitish glow on them, making her breast look pale. It was smallish but he was fine with that. In fact, he thought it was the most perfect boob he'd ever seen. Her nipple was erect and pink and when he moved the bra completely out of the way goosebumps followed his light touch. He realized he was staring at her boob intently, so he suddenly looked up at her and caught her biting her lip nervously.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" he mumbled, moving to replace her bra to cover her.

"No, it's okay Sam…really…" she said, noticing his hesitation.

"Okay…" he whispered, kissing her. If he watched himself touch her, it'd be all over in his pants, he was pretty sure of that.

Gently, he placed his hand on her breast. Her skin was soft, as he had expected. He rubbed her slowly, not sure of what she wanted him to do. He felt her hardened nipple and took it between his thumb and index finger easily. This elicited an excited moan from her, right up against his lips, and he shifted uncomfortably. His dick was hard, probably harder than he had ever been, and it was trapped between his thigh and abdomen and the shifting was causing nearly unbearable friction. He didn't care though…his hand was on Lucy Quinn Fabray's boob…_bare_ boob…and whatever happened, happened.

Not too long after that brazen thought, it _did_ happen. He pressed his hand against her, French kissing her hard and fast, and before his mind could catch up to his body he felt it in his pants. He stopped kissing her, his hand stopped, _everything_ stopped as his body shuddered next to hers. He squeezed his eyes shut, afraid he'd find her laughing at him.

She loved making out with him. He was such a gentleman and actually _polite_ when they got close. Pressed up against him in that recliner that night, she decided to let him touch her boob. She knew he had been yearning to do so and that night felt right to her. It felt so good that she encouraged him to take it a step further. Of course, she felt him moving around next to her and she was well aware why he was shifting around. He had worn skinny jeans that night so she knew he had to be feeling somewhat _trapped_, but she didn't want to push things that far. She hadn't meant to moan into his mouth but damn his hand on her did things, _tingly _things, to her and when she felt him pressing his palm to her, then felt his body rocking just the slightest bit she let the moan escape. Then, everything came to a halt. He was shaking next to her, his eyes closed tightly, his hand stopped on her boob…then she could smell it and knew what had happened.

"Uhhh…" He heard himself make a noise, but he was again mortified to the nth degree and didn't know if he actually said something or not.

"Maybe we should slow it down some," she said quietly.

He still wouldn't look her in the eye, so she kissed him on the lips, wrapping her hands around his neck. Resting her forehead against his, she said, "It's okay, Sam."

He finally moved his hand from her breast and pulled her strap back up to her shoulder, then covered her with her sweater.

"Umm…I probably need to get home now…" His cheeks were flaming. This was the worst but wait she said it was okay. "Umm…I'm sorry…"

He stood up and waited for her to stand up. She did and threw her arms around him.

"I love you, Sam Evans," she said into his neck. Her breath on his skin sent shivers through his body.

"I love you too, Quinn Fabray," he replied, closing his eyes.

He hugged her again at her door, then went to his car. Driving home, he felt the front of his jeans. What had felt like a gallon of jizz was only a small spot, thank god, and he finally allowed himself to rethink what happened that night.

He got home, let his parents know he was in, and retreated to his room. He stripped out of his clothes and put on fresh boxers, then lay down on his bed to continue thinking about Lucy Quinn Fabray. When he finally fell asleep, he slept soundly until nearly noon the next day. That was the last night of good sleep he had before his world came crashing down around him.

**A/N: This story is going to be co-authored by me and GleekFreak13. It's for the most part canon and begins during Silly Love Songs during S2 except Sam and Quinn never broke up. This story will explore more of how Sam dealt with his family's financial disaster and how Quinn was there to help him cope with it and eventually how Sam helps support Quinn. We're rating it M for future mature situations and language. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee except a beach towel.**

Quinn stretched her arms above her head and yawned the next morning, sleeping in until almost 9 a.m. Her first thoughts, as had been her last thoughts the night before, were centered around her awesome boyfriend. She brought her right hand in front of her face and giggled at the sight of her new promise ring. She curled up under her comforter and recalled the night before, making out with Sam, him touching her boob, then the issue in his pants. It caused him some embarrassment and he had left quickly soon thereafter. She crawled out of bed and made her way to the shower, figuring she'd hear from him later that day.

After showering and breakfast and talking to her hungover mother, she started in on her homework. It was just Saturday, but she hadn't heard from Sam so she figured she may as well get it done.

The day wore on with no word from him. Toward suppertime, she was really concerned. He usually would've called her by this time or been by to pick her up for a date. She went ahead and dialed his number, a little worried about him.

_The number you have reached has been disconnected_ the generic voice droned into Quinn's ear. Now, she was thoroughly confused.

She re-dialed his number and got the same generic message. She hung up the phone. She wasn't sure what to do…wait on him…drive by his house to see if he was home?

"Should I go check on him, mom?" she asked her mother.

Her mother looked at her with bleary bloodshot eyes.

"If you do, then he'll know you're his bitch. Let him come to you. If he wants to see you that bad, he'll be here or he'll call, and right now it's neither," her mother said without an ounce of emotion.

Quinn sighed. She was used to her mother's responses after a night of drinking.

She picked up her car keys and purse and left.

_xxxxx_

"I don't understand…" Sam said, his brow furrowed. He had woken up happy, so happy, and now this. He sat at their kitchen table and listened to his parents. Words like _unemployment, debt, foreclosure, bankruptcy _were swirling around the room, around his head, and he couldn't focus on any of it. He knew his mom had lost her job recently and his parents had asked him to pick up a part-timer, which he did and even turned over all his earnings to them. They weren't worried; his dad was the main wage-earner of the Evans' family, working as the maintenance supervisor at the nearby Ford factory.

Now, his father was telling him that six months previously he had been downsized from his managerial position and two months ago had been laid off indefinitely. With his mother losing her part-time job at the jewelry shop, they had had no income coming in except unemployment wages, which weren't nearly enough to cover the house payment, two car payments, school fees, groceries, the utilities, gasoline…they felt like they were getting buried under the bills and the only way out was literally to move out, which was what they had to do that weekend. They hadn't made a house payment in five months and the bank had sent a letter a month ago stating they had 30 days to vacate the premises.

Sam could tell this was killing his parents, having to sit there and inform him of this. He was barely 16 years old, his twin siblings were 8, and his father handed him a box and told him to cram everything he could into that one box…that was all he could take with him.

Sam sat there, trying to hold back tears. "Where? Where are we going?" he asked. The worst case scenario in his mind was sharing a room with his little brother. He had no idea how much worse it could be.

_xxxxx_

They loaded five boxes of belongings in Sam's car, the only car they owned outright, one box for each of them. His parents had packed their suitcase with their most important clothes, Sam packed a duffel bag, and his twin siblings packed a shared suitcase. They took their pillows and blankets, five towels and washcloths, a few plates, dishes, cups, and silverware, and anything of importance or sentimental value. Sam moved around like a robot, in a state of shock. They were leaving behind all of their furniture, all of his mom's home décor that she had worked so hard to make their home a pretty home, he couldn't believe how much stuff they were leaving…even toys of his kid brother and sister's. _Toys…who leaves toys behind? _he thought morosely. Where they were going, though, there was no room for toys.

Sam and his dad drove to where they'd be living with the first load of stuff. Sam felt sick to his stomach. This couldn't be happening. His father directed him to what amounted to a roadside motel. His dad retrieved the keys "to the room," he said, and Sam wondered _the room_? _One_ room? He told Sam to drive to 404, a room on the corner, which might mean it's a bit larger. Sam did so and got out to help his dad unload the car.

His dad was not lying. It was, in fact, one large room, holding one bed, one dresser, and one small table with 2 chairs. There was one bathroom. That was it. For five people. Sam was speechless while his father was going on and on about how this would be such an adventure and how they'd get to know each other so much better. Sam had no words for his father's boundless optimism. All Sam could think was he was the sole wage-earner of their family now, raking in an awesome two hundred dollars a week, _if_ he was lucky on his tips. Maybe he could pick up extra hours at the pizza place…shouldn't be too hard…of course, he wouldn't be able to see Quinn as often…

_Oh my fucking god…QUINN_, he thought, now distressed. There was no way he could ever tell her this, no way in hell. He thanked god that she hardly ever came to his house or hardly ever called him (he knew she expected him to do all that for her and he was fine with it). He couldn't even consider facing her now. Again, he felt sick to his stomach.

His dad checked all the lights in the room and the water, everything was working properly. Once they had Sam's car unloaded, he said they needed to head back to pick up the rest and of course the rest of the family. From what they brought in on the first trip, the room was full already. Sam just didn't see how it would be possible. He bit his lip again to keep from yelling at his dad and to keep from crying like a little kid.

_xxxxx_

Quinn hated sneaking around, but she didn't want to make Sam mad either. There had to be some reason he hadn't contacted her that day. It was totally out of character for him and frankly she was worried. She drove down his street, a pretty tree-lined street with Cape Cod houses lining the road of different sizes and colors. His house was in the middle, white with blue shutters, pretty wintertime decorations out. She drove by slowly, not seeing Sam's car but both his parent's cars were there. She saw his twin siblings playing in the snow on the front lawn, but she also saw a few boxes in the driveway. At the end of the street, she went around the block and drove back down his street, this time noticing his mother sitting on the front stoop watching the twins play. Not seeing Sam's car, Quinn pulled up to the curb, turned off her car, and got out.

"Hi Quinn!" the kids yelled and ran up to her to hug her. She had always gotten along well with his twin siblings; they were as cute as Sam and just as well behaved.

"Hi guys! Having fun in the snow?" she asked them. They answered yes, told her about having a snowball fight, and went back to playing.

"Hi Mrs. Evans," Quinn said, approaching Sam's mom. Quinn could tell something was wrong. Even though Mary Evans smiled up at her, her face was swollen, her eyes red.

"Nice to see you, Quinn. Sam's out with his dad right now," his mom said.

"Okay," Quinn said, not sure how to proceed. So, she sat down next to his mom on the stoop. "Is everything okay? I haven't heard from Sam today and..."

Mrs. Evans sighed heavily next to her. "Sam will explain it to you..."

Quinn glanced over at her and saw she was crying silently. She wasn't sure what to say to the woman; she had only met her a handful of times before. This was totally out of her depth. She sat there next to his mom, watching the kids play in the snow.

_xxxxx_

Sam turned down his street. He had really liked this neighborhood when they moved here. There were other kids his age running around whom he had met before school started and there was hardly any traffic so they played in the street a lot. The neighbors were kind to his family. It just felt like home to him. And now, it was all being pulled out from under him. On their way back to pick up the rest of their stuff, his dad had told him that in the coming week they'd try to sell what they could in the house and take that money to try to buy a beater for him and his mom to share. Sam had already told his dad he'd try to pick up extra hours at the pizza joint to help out, but he said it flatly, his jaw set, his gaze out the window. His dad told him that they were planning on selling their wedding rings, as well. Sam just wished he'd stop feeling so nauseous. As he approached his house, his stomach fell yet again. Quinn's car was parked there.

He pulled into the driveway, and his dad hopped out right away. The twins ran up to him, hugging him, not really understanding what was going on. Sam heard his dad say hello to Quinn. Sam felt glued to the driver's seat. He sat there, looking at his hands in his lap. How could he face her?

Quinn was confused; Sam was not getting out of his car. She finally stood and walked over to him, tapping on his window. He exhaled, blowing his breath out and puffing up his cheeks. He looked out at her through the window, smiling. She mouthed the word _hi_.

He rolled down his window. "Hi there," he said, trying his best not to show any emotion other than happiness.

"I was just, kinda, wondering if you were okay so I drove by," she said to him.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just helping my parents with some stuff today. Maybe I can stop by later at your place?" he asked her, his voice not betraying him yet. "I need some help with that Spanish assignment."

She smiled a little, but he could tell it wasn't a genuine smile, more like a smile to let him know she was trying to believe him.

"Is-is everything okay, Sam?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, just peachy," he replied quickly, too quickly, his voice jumping an octave.

"Um, I'll see ya later, okay?"

She studied him for a moment, then leaned in to peck him on the cheek.

"Sure...I'll be waiting for you."

"Cool..."

Quinn waved goodbye to Sam's family and walked to her car, still thoroughly confused by what was happening.

_xxxxx_

She started a fire in the fireplace and made some hot chocolate. Her mother was out yet again, so she had the house to herself. Her sister had called earlier, checking in from Ohio State. It was nice to talk to her; they hadn't been very close when Frannie lived at home but now that she was away at college it seemed they had bonded more. Quinn promised her she'd come stay for a weekend in the spring, maybe after spring break, so they could do some prom shopping.

Instead of flipping on the TV, Quinn curled up in front of the fire on a loveseat with a book. She rarely had time to read for pleasure, and, while waiting on Sam, she figured then would be a good time to crack open the novel.

While Quinn was cozy and warm in front of the fire reading _Madame Bovary_, Sam was helping his parents organize their one-room accommodations. They tried to assure Sam it wouldn't be for long; they knew his father could find work with his mechanical engineering degree. His twin siblings were excited about everyone being in one room. Sam sat at the little table wondering where he was going to sleep, not able to find any positives in the situation at all. He watched his mother go along with his father, trying to stay happy, probably for the little ones, but he could see the worry that would creep into her eyes. They set up their microwave and a coffeemaker, and the room itself had a mini refrigerator. Sam's dad thought it'd be a good idea to keep a cooler on hand and thankfully they had brought one from their house. It was dark, Sam wasn't sure what time, but he offered to go pick up a couple bags of ice. He also needed to stop by Quinn's.

He drove around for a bit before pulling up at Quinn's. He had no idea what to say to her. _Welp, my family lost our house, we're living in one room at a roadside sleezebag motel...how's your day been?_ Maybe he could just not tell her at all. That thought crossed his mind, but he knew she was too intuitive and would figure it out eventually. He had stopped first at the pizza joint to ask his boss if he could pick up extra hours and was told it was a possibility. In Quinn's driveway, he sat there with the car turned off, still trying to think of the words to say to her. Nothing came to him; he was drawing a blank. Really, he just felt like curling up in a little ball on his bed and sleeping until he never woke up. _Oh wait, I don't have a bed_, that thought nearly broke him.

He walked up to her door slowly, hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets. Taking a deep breath, he rang the doorbell and waited.

The doorbell made Quinn jump. _I must've really been in to Charles and Emma_, she thought, giggling a bit, happy that Sam was finally there. She practically skipped to the front door and yanked it open without even checking first. He stood there in the cold, stiff. She opened the storm door, ushering him inside.

"It's cold out there!" she said happily. "Take your jacket off."

"Um, I can't really stay...I-I've gotta get...back..." he said, unsure of his words. She closed the front door.

"So soon? I've missed you today," she said, pushing up on her tiptoes and hugging him tightly.

She felt his arms, his strong arms, wrap around her, not letting her go. She tried to break the embrace but he wouldn't let her. It was then she heard him choke back a sob and she knew something was terribly wrong.

"Sam?" she questioned quietly.

"Just..." he muttered and then stopped.

At the moment, she was the closest friend he had and he clung to her. Just being in her arms brought on the tears and he was horribly embarrassed by that but, on the other hand, didn't really care.

She held him until he was ready to talk. Her mind was racing with what could be wrong...had someone died? was someone ill? She just didn't know...it didn't make sense.

"I've made some hot chocolate...you want some?" she whispered to him.

He nodded and finally let her go. She looked up at him, his face tear-stained.

"You're scaring me, Sam Evans," she said, her voice trembling.

"I-I don't know what to do..."

She threw her arms back around him. Whatever was going on with him was big.

Feeling her in his arms, he felt normal, like his old self, like the happy guy he was when he left there the night before...not a homeless person. Because that's what he was now...driving away from the pizza place it had hit him...his entire family was _homeless_.

"Can we sit down maybe?" he asked, stumbling over his words. He still wasn't sure he'd be able to look her in the eye.

She took his hand and led him to the loveseat where she had been relaxing on when he arrived. He sat staring forward at the fireplace; she sat facing him. She reached over for his hand and it all spilled from him...everything his parents had told him, packing his one box, stripping his bed, going with his dad to the motel room, the fact that his mom and dad kept referring to it as 'an adventure'...once he started telling her, he couldn't stop. By the end, he was angry...angry with his parents for letting it get so far that they lost their home, angry at his kid siblings for being so happy and not realizing what was going on, and finally angry at himself for not being able to do more.

"God, Quinn, I'm mad because I'm mad! How could they do this to us?" he said, his voice raising, slamming his fists to his knees. He finally looked at her. "How could they do this to me?"

She bit the inside of her lip from saying _I'm sorry_. The last thing he needed was her pity. Truthfully, she was scared for him, too. She had never known anyone personally who had lost their home. He was watching her study him; she was fingering her cross necklace. _Church_.

"Are you going to church tomorrow?" she asked him. They both attended the same church; he started going with her when they started dating.

"Yeah, probably," he said, rubbing his temples, then his head shot up. "No one can know about this..._no one_!"

"No, I didn't mean it that way...just, maybe for answers, or help," she said.

"I don't Quinn, I just don't know..." he mumbled, rubbing his fingertips over her fingers.

"If there's anything I can do, just ask me, please," she said to him, leaning into him.

He put his arm around her shoulders. "I don't want your charity, Quinn." He chuckled sarcastically. "How can I even take you to prom?"

"That's two months away...we'll figure out something...Sam, look at me..." He looked down into her unbelievable hazel eyes, the flames from the fire dancing in them.

"I'm here for you always...let me hold you..." she said quietly, bringing an arm across his chest and turning into him to wrap her other arm around him. "I promise you, we'll figure this out."

_xxxxx_

The next month was difficult. They had decided that the twins would sleep with Sam's parents and that Sam would bunk on the pull-out bed that they folded up every morning and stashed at one end of the bathroom. He was approximately a foot and a half off the floor, feeling the draft from the door every night. The heat sometimes would work, sometimes wouldn't work. And, after living there two short weeks, Sam was coughing and congested. He was now working 30-40 hours a week at the pizza place. His homework was not getting finished, his grades were suffering, and there was no time to see Quinn.

Three weeks after moving out of their home, Sam was standing at his locker, half-asleep, coughing, when Quinn approached him. She could tell he had lost weight. He looked at her that morning with a dopey grin on his face. His cheeks were bright red, his eyes feverish. She put her wrist to his forehead, took his hand, and pulled him to the nurse's office. There, they found he had a temperature of 103 degrees Fahrenheit and could visibly tell he was dehydrated and had congestion in his lungs. The nurse said she was going to call his parents, and Sam shot up from the table, telling her no, they weren't home, then looked at Quinn for guidance.

"I'll call them," she told the nurse. "They just changed numbers and it's right here in my phone."

She stepped out into the hallway and dialed her own mother, asking her to come pick up Sam at school, he needed to go to the hospital.

Her mother came to McKinley and signed him out, driving him to the hospital. At the emergency room, he was determined to have double pneumonia and was admitted. Once settled in a room, Quinn, who had been by his side the entire time, asked him where she needed to go to get his parents.

He sighed. He didn't want her to know the hovel he was living in. However, he knew that his parents needed to know where he was. Resignedly, he told her where to go. After being reassured that Sam would be fine and once he finally fell asleep, she left to go to the motel.

_xxxxx_

Quinn drove out to the motel. School had not been released for the day so she hoped one or both his parents were there. Sam had made sure she didn't know where he was living; he made it sound not that bad. However, pulling up to the building, Quinn was pretty sure he'd been keeping a lot from her.

It was just a row of single rundown rooms, nothing special at all about the place. Old scattered toys and bicycles were here and there on the crumbling sidewalk in front of most rooms. All of the rooms had their drapes pulled closed. A handful of broke-down cars were parked around the place. She drove through the lot slowly, looking for 404, finding it on the corner of a row.

From the outside, it was one of the more well-kept rooms. A potted plant sat on the windowsill. Quinn got out of her car and walked quickly to the door, knocking rapidly.

The door was opened by Sam's mom. Much like Sam, she looked worn out, thinner, depressed. Quinn hated bringing the bad news about Sam but there was no one else.

"Quinn! What a surprise! Come in...is everything okay?" his mother asked, opening the door wider, letting her in. His father sat at the small table by the window, the newspaper spread out in front of him.

Quinn took in the room quickly. One bed, a dresser with a TV on it, the end of the fold-up bed that Sam used, the microwave and mini fridge in the corner. The room was neat and tidy but not nearly large enough for the five of them.

"You're out of school...is something wrong?" Sam's mother asked again, realizing that Sam wasn't with her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Evans, it's Sam...he was sick today at school and he had to go to the hospital. They need you there," she said to them, trying to keep her voice steady.

His father stood up, concerned. "Sick? Sick enough to go to the hospital?"

"He has double pneumonia..."

"Oh my god, John, Sam..." his mother said, going to her husband.

"Um, does the bus drop of Stevie and Stacie? You can take my car and I'll stay here," Quinn said to them, trying to organize some sort of plan.

Sam's mother looked confused. "Uh, yeah, yes, the bus...you should be in school, though..."

"It's okay...I've taken the rest of today off...just go be with Sam," Quinn told them. She told them her mother had picked him up and gave them the rundown of what happened when he got to the hospital.

His parents looked at one another, then put together a few meager items of Sam's hurriedly. Quinn handed his father her keys and hugged his mother, both of whom were now visibly upset. She reassured them Sam was resting and getting medicine.

Then, she was alone in the room until the school bus dropped off Stevie and Stacie. She looked about the room and tried to picture all five of them there. It just couldn't be possible. She rummaged around in the mini-fridge and a box of food on top of the microwave, stuff they had obviously picked up from a shelter, and put together after-school snacks for the twins. The place was already spotless, there was no cleaning to be done, so she sat in the chair Sam's father had occupied when she got there and waited for the school bus.

She sat there staring blankly at the newspaper and at the circled job opportunities Sam's dad had been researching: department store manager, video store assistant manager, selling insurance, car wash attendant. She knew from how Sam talked about his dad how much he looked up to him and after this happened Sam had had very little to say about his father. She knew Sam was still angry about their situation, but his parents were doing their best. She heard the squeal of the school bus brakes and went to the door, opening it.

"Quinn!" Stacie said excitedly, rushing into her arms.

"Where's mom and dad?" Stevie asked her.

"Um, well, Sam had to go see a doctor and I said I'd babysit you two rascals while they were gone," Quinn said, smiling. "I made you a snack, then let's talk homework."

"Isn't our room totally cool, Quinn?" Stacie asked her. "Sammy doesn't like it, but he's a big kid, ya know."

Quinn giggled a bit. _Sammy_. "Your room is totally awesome! I'm happy I get to hang out with you two today. It's not too chilly, maybe we'll take a walk after your snacks?"

The kids liked that idea, so that's what they did. The cool air invigorated Quinn, still worried about Sam.

Quinn was watching TV with the twins when Sam's parents returned around 8 p.m. They looked exhausted as well. Thankfully, Mrs. Evans held up a McDonalds sack; Quinn didn't know what to do for supper. Once they settled the twins down to eat, Mr. Evans told Quinn quietly that Sam was feeling much better, was just tired, and he wanted to see her the next day. They thanked her profusely and told her to get some rest herself.

She smiled, thinking she kind of wanted to see Sam that night to see for herself that he was okay, but she just nodded at them and told them anytime they needed her to babysit to let her know. She hugged Stevie and Stacie because it was kind of like hugging Sam and she left.

She drove around aimlessly, then wound up at Target. She roamed up and down the aisles, then found what she was looking for.

She drove back to the motel and knocked lightly on the door, hoping Mrs. Evans would answer. She did.

"Quinn? Did you forget something?" she asked, slightly confused, looking exhausted.

"No, Mrs. Evans...I brought you this," Quinn handed her the Target sack. "Sam won't let me help out at all and I wanted to do something. At least with this you can be in contact with the kids."

Sam's mom looked in the sack and pulled out a prepaid cell phone. "Quinn, we can't..."

"Please...just...pay me back when you can, okay?" Quinn hugged her quickly and left just as quickly before his mom could protest further. She made the suggestion to Sam's mom only to make her not feel bad; she never expected anything in return.

_xxxxx_

The next day, she got through school in a daze. Glee Club was the last class of the day. She told the others Sam was sick but should be back soon. The others seemed concerned for him and asked her if there was anything they could do. She shrugged her shoulders; she didn't know what to tell them. As soon as the bell rang to end the day, she rushed to her car and then to the hospital.

Sam was sitting up in his bed, his blonde hair a wreck, watching a baseball game on TV and eating jello.

"You look so much better," she said from the doorway, making him jump a bit.

"Hey Quinn," he said, smiling at her. "I feel so much better. Thanks for helping out yesterday, you know, so my parents could come in and stuff."

He looked better, but it was still odd to her to see him in a bed with IVs attached to him and a monitor on his index finger.

"Stevie and Stacie were a lot of fun...I took them for a walk since it was kinda nice outside," she told him, standing next to his bed. "You scared me, Sam."

"I'm sorry, Q. They said I could probably go home tomorrow..."

He looked down at his jello. _What home?_ he thought.

"And I need to get back to work..."

"Sam...you need to, I dunno, recuperate from this...you can't just rush back to work. And school..."

He looked at her sadly. "You know I need to keep that stupid job, Quinn. Get this, my mom came to see me today and she said the school provided us with a prepaid cell phone. Can you believe that? She said she 'informed them of our situation and that they had funds for that purpose'." He sighed. "Anyway, here's the number if you wanna put it in your phone..." He handed her a slip of paper. She took her phone out and pretended to add it (she had already done so after activating the phone the night before).

"Well, at least you have a way to contact your parents now," she said to him.

"I s'pose...everyone's gonna find out, though," he said quietly. "Does the Glee Club know yet?"

"No...they asked about you today though, were worried about you," Quinn said, running a finger over his hand.

He sighed again. "I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay in Glee...with working all these hours and there's no way I can afford to go to competitions..."

She slid her hand into his. "We'll figure it out, Sam." She kissed him softly on the cheek and watched him blush. "You mind if I brush your hair for you? It's all kinds of crazy right now."

"Sure..."

She found a brush, then sat behind him on his bed, brushing out his tangles.

"You know, that feels kinda good..." he told her.

"I always liked it when my sister brushed my hair," she said. "I just want you to get better...we have a big date coming up, you know."

She was talking about prom.

"Yeah, about that...you know I won't be able to afford, well, anything...I can't do you justice," he said, not facing her.

"Your dad has a suit, right? You can wear that. We're good to go," she said, now rubbing his shoulders.

"What about flowers? Dinner? A limo? I don't even think I can swing the tickets," he said, his shoulders slumping.

"Who said I needed all of that?" she asked, leaning around him to look at him.

"We can have dinner at my place, I'll pick some fresh flowers, and we'll go in your car...Sam, all I need is you!"

"You're pretty awesome, you know that? You're pretty, too," he said to her. "How does my hair look?"

"Like you need some more lemon juice," she laughed.

_xxxxx_

He did get to leave the hospital the next day and went back to work that night, against Quinn's wishes and his parent's wishes. He felt it was what he needed to do for his family and no one was going to stop him. Quinn helped him catch up on his homework, of which there was a ton. He'd stop by her place after work and she'd read to him while he relaxed before going back to the motel.

Quinn had heard the whispers at school about Sam and his home situation until one day Kurt approached her and pulled her into the empty choir room.

"'Fess up. What's going on with Blondie? Satan said she saw him going into a room at some seedy motel; she wouldn't tell my why _she_ was there though. I know he is too much of a gentleman to cheat on you so, what's going on?"

She stood at the piano, biting her lip. "I can't say."

Kurt stared at her for a second. "Is he in some sort of trouble?"

"Just let it go, Kurt! There's nothing wrong!" Quinn said and ran out of the room. She was not going to tell Sam's secret no matter how much arm-twisting there was.

As it turned out, there was no more arm-twisting. Santana just went to the motel room and knocked on the door. The door was opened by Stevie.

To Santana, he was a mini Trouty Mouth.

"Do you have a brother named Sam?" she asked him. He nodded. That was all she needed to know. She called Kurt and told him it was true, Sam Evans was living in a seedy motel.

Kurt opened his double closet doors with a flourish and started tossing stuff onto his bed, then into a duffel bag. He jumped in his car and headed to the motel. Hesitantly, he went to 404 and knocked. Sam answered.

"Kurt?" he asked, looking equal parts surprised and unhappy.

"Samuel, if I may?" Kurt asked, gesturing toward the room. Sam reluctantly let him in. Kurt then told him that Santana found out, Quinn had said not a single word and Santana promised to keep her mouth shut. He then opened the duffel bag and pulled out shirts, pants, even a strange-looking trench coat that he said had been designed in Paris but he bought in Cincinnati.

After the odd presentation of clothing, Sam just stood there. "So...?"

"I don't need all this stuff...it's for you," Kurt said, obviously pleased with himself. This was exactly what Sam _didn't _want, people's pity. However, he bit his tongue and thanked Kurt.

"Is there anything else I can do to help out?" Kurt asked him.

"Oh no, man, all these clothes are great...just, try to make sure it doesn't get around school, okay?"

"I promise, it won't," Kurt said, opening the door to the room and stepping out on the porch. At that precise moment, his stepbrother was driving down the road, having driven to the next town over for his stepfather, glanced over, and saw Sam _embracing _Kurt. Finn nearly drove off the road, his mind racing with the implications...Kurt cheating on Blaine? Sam cheating on Quinn? He punched the accelerator and headed toward Rachel's.

_xxxxx_

Sam made the mistake of wearing Kurt's trench coat to school the next day. His letterman's jacket was packed away somewhere and he couldn't find it and it was chilly so he wore it. So what? Kurt gave him his word that he wouldn't say anything to anyone. In the halls, he passed Finn who whispered to Rachel. Sam immediately knew something wasn't right.

In Glee Club, the lesson for the week was Fleetwood Mac songs from their album _Rumours_. That day, Rachel sang _Go Your Own Way _then the proverbial shit hit the fan. Rachel started in about how the song was about the breakup of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, then looking right at Kurt she said, "Maybe you should listen closely to the lyrics, Kurt."

"You too, Sam," Finn added. Sam and Quinn both jerked their heads up, trying to stay out of the fray that was erupting.

"What?"

"How could you cheat on Blaine, Kurt? And on Quinn?" Rachel asked, glaring at Kurt and Sam. Kurt and Sam looked at one another.

"I saw you two, Kurt, at that motel," Finn added. Santana's eyes got huge as did Kurt's.

"There is no cheating going on with anyone!" Kurt finally responded. "I was just helping Sam."

"Oh, is that what we're calling it now?" Mercedes chimed in. Mr. Schue mumbled an admonition but it was ignored.

"Then why were you two shacking up at some sleazebag motel, huh Sam?" Puck asked in a huff. "Remember what I told you?" He then grabbed his balls and pointed at Sam. That did it for Sam.

Sam stood up quickly, knocking his chair over.

"I am _not_ cheating on Quinn with Kurt and Kurt's _not_ cheating on Blaine!" Sam said loudly. "The reason I was at that motel is because that's where I _live_ now! Me, my parents, and my little brother and sister...all _five_ of us in _one _stinking room! Are you happy?" He stalked out of the choir room to get away from all the stares.

It happened so quickly; everyone sat there stunned. Then, Quinn got up and followed Sam out of the room. She found him at his locker, pulling books from it. He slammed it shut and turned to face her.

"I need to get outta here," he said, breathing heavily.

"C'mon..." She grabbed his hand and they left McKinley.


	3. Chapter 3

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 3**

She led him to her car that day and drove to a nearby park. It was early April, the afternoons were pretty nice in Ohio if it wasn't raining. There was a lake there that rented paddleboats so they hopped in one of those and paddled quietly to the center of the water. She found she didn't have to use any leg power at all to move the boat; he was doing it all himself. She knew he was mad as hell, but she wasn't going to say a word until he opened up. She was mad, too, at Finn and Rachel for assuming something like that about Kurt and Sam and then accusing them in front of the entire Glee Club. In a way, she was mad at Santana too for telling Kurt. They thought that just because they were both gay they had some sort of 'sixth sense' about people and they had been wondering about Sam since he was hospitalized. It wasn't like they told the whole school but still it was none of their business.

Sam stopped pedaling abruptly. "I'm just so damned mad!" he nearly shouted. "God, I swear, why can't they just mind their own goddamned business?"

She had never heard him cuss like this so she kept her mouth shut and let him vent.

"I know you didn't say anything but Kurt said Santana found out. How'd she find out?"

"Kurt said she saw you there...he doesn't know why she was there," Quinn said quietly.

"Are you kidding me? That place is nasty! I don't even wanna know what she was doing there or who she was with or...ugggg, just gross," he spat out. "Still, it is none of her business."

They were floating around the lake now, some of the swans coming up to them. "We shoulda brought bread..." he mumbled.

"Why?"

He looked at her. "To feed them." Then, he kind of smiled. "You've never fed the ducks before?"

"No," she giggled. "My mom was not into feeding ducks..."

"We'll bring like day-old bread back next time," he said, starting to pedal again. "I've got to get back to my car to get to work."

She took his hand in hers. "I'm sorry your secret got out. I think they'll want to help you, you know."

He sighed yet again. "I know...I just...don't know...I hate it that they know this...it's embarrassing as hell."

"Don't let it embarrass you, Sam. You're still the same person to me. Your parents are trying hard to get things right. It's nothing to be ashamed of either. This isn't the first time it's happened and it won't be the last. If anything, I love you more because of it."

He helped her out of the paddleboat. "You love me _more _because of it?"

"I do...I know it hasn't been easy for you but you're trying your best and not giving up and I love that about you." She hugged him tightly on the water's edge.

Hugging her back, not wanting to go to work, just wanting to be a kid and hold her the rest of the night, he said to her, "You're my best friend."

_xxxxx_

A couple weeks later, Sam had the twenty-dollar bill in his pocket. He practically could feel it burning a hole there. He had picked up extra work on the weekends and earned enough in tips to set the twenty dollars back. Today, prom tickets went on sale and he was buying two. Artie was sitting at the table as he was treasurer of the prom committee.

"Sup Sam? You takin' Quinn?"

"Yep...two please," Sam said, unable to stop smiling.

"Cool...she'll love that you're asking her," Artie said, taking his twenty and handing him two midnight blue tickets with gold ink and covered in gold glitter in return. Sam looked at them..._Dreams Do Come True _was the theme. The glitter was all over his clothes by that point.

Sam looked at Artie. "I have to ask her, don't I?" It had just been a given between them that they'd be going together but he knew girls liked to be asked formally.

Artie laughed. "Well duh!"

Sam suddenly felt lost. "How?" he asked Artie.

"Well, you know all the chicks like a big fat production of being asked to prom so, you know, you gotta do it up big, man," Artie told him.

Sam scrunched up his brow. He wasn't sure if Quinn would want him to do something huge. "Will you help me figure something out?"

Artie smiled. "Sure, dude. I've already got an idea."

_xxxxx_

A few days later, Quinn pulled up at school and parked next to Sam's beater. She usually got to school before him so this was somewhat of a surprise. And he was not in his car. He had been acting silly the past couple days, blushing a lot when he saw her and even giggling a time or two. She couldn't help but think it might have something to do with prom since he absolutely refused to bring it up. At least he had been happy the past several days, happier than he had been in awhile.

She walked into McKinley and to her locker, passing some of the Glee Club people and some Cheerios. She said _good morning_ and _hello _and smiled and looked for Sam. She stopped at her locker and saw Artie sitting about 10 feet away with the cheesiest grin ever plastered on his face. She smiled and waved a little to him and he returned the gesture, then she turned to her locker and started spinning the lock. She lifted the handle and opened the door.

A dark blue balloon floated out, making her gasp. She grabbed it out of instinct since it was floating upward but while staring at it a gold balloon floated past her upward to the ceiling, popped, showering her with gold confetti. She screamed a little, still grasping the blue balloon, then felt the familiar strong arms wrap around her, the familiar full lips kissing her cheek.

"Sam!" she said, somehow hugging him too, keeping a tight grip on the balloon.

"Are you surprised?"

"Yes…totally!"

"Read it!"

"Read what?"

"The balloon!" he said, grabbing her hand holding the balloon and pulling it up. Tied to the string of the balloon was a folded over note.

"Here, I'll hold this…" Sam said, holding the balloon string.

She unfolded the baby blue paper and read his handwriting.

_You have made so many of my dreams come true. Please say yes to one more…Come to prom with me?_

She looked up at him, a bit teary. "Yes…" she whispered.

"Cool…" he said to her, pulling her close again. He motioned to Artie to stop recording it. Artie gave him a thumbs up signal and rolled off to class.

_xxxxx_

Two weeks later, Quinn waited anxiously for Sam to come over. She had coaxed her mother and sister into preparing a meal for them before prom, and it actually smelled divine. Her mother, for once, was sober, and she could hear her mom and sister laughing in the kitchen and having fun. They had set up the dining room with all their best linens and china and crystal and fresh flowers. Quinn's sister even fashioned a corsage for Quinn and boutonniere for Sam from pink and white tulips from their garden.

Quinn looked at herself once more in her full-length mirror in her room. She twirled around and smiled, actually feeling like a princess. She loved the pink dress she chose and couldn't wait to see Sam. Her dress had an empire waist and a full skirt all the way to the floor. A row of tiny rosebuds traversed her bosom, the material gathered at her chest to accentuate that asset but not too revealing. The dress sat just slightly off her shoulders with tiny cap sleeves. Her favorite part of her outfit, though, was her hair style. Her sister had braided two sections of her hair from her part in the middle and joined the braids in the back in a twisted-up knot. Her makeup was not too heavy, the emphasis on her eyes. And her promise ring sparkled. She added dainty diamond earrings, a gift from long ago from her father, and her always-present necklace with the cross. Before Sam's family had their financial problems, Quinn's thoughts about prom were nominating herself and Sam for prom king and queen. She had since nixed that idea, especially after witnessing the hell he had been going through. She just wanted the night to be fun and stress-free, no worries about money or prom royalty, just him and her.

At the motel room, the atmosphere was anything but fun. It was more high stress. The feeling of 'adventure' had worn off for the twins and they were tired of being cooped up in one room while not in school. Then, they had to find Sam's dad's black suit and, of course, it hung on Sam, so his mother offered to make the needed alterations. While the twins were fighting on the bed, his mother was trying to pin his pants to hem them and also bring them in a little around the waist while he stood on one of the chairs in front of her.

"You might just have to tighten your belt a bit more, Sam," she said, smiling up at him. He attempted a smile back but felt like he was in hell. There was nothing that could be done about the suit jacket or shirt, and he had already cut two new holes in his belt to tighten it. He didn't even have a proper tie to wear, just his dad's bolo. He sighed.

His dad yelled at the twins to calm down, which they did momentarily, and told Sam that he reminded him of himself on his wedding day. That made Sam smile genuinely.

Once his mother pinned the legs of the trousers, Sam had to take them off carefully in the small bathroom for her. He handed them out to her then turned on the shower. Only cold water came from the shower head. Holding his breath, he hopped in and took the quickest shower known to man, wanting to punch something by the time that was over. Standing in front of the sink, shivering in a towel wrapped around his hips, he realized they were out of shaving cream. So, he shaved with soap and water with resultant nicks on his jaw line. He combed his hair back as best possible. Of course, he had had no extra money to get a haircut before the dance. Staring into the mirror, he wondered what possessed him to think he could take a girl like Lucy Quinn Fabray to the prom and show her a good time.

A knock on the bathroom door brought him out of his thoughts.

"Sammy? Your slacks are ready," his mother said. He cracked open the door and took them from her.

"Thanks mom," he said without much emotion.

By the time he was fully dressed and getting ready to go, his family made over him yet he felt like a scarecrow, complete with hair that looked like strewn hay. He was pretty sure he could scare away birds the way he looked.

"The suit looks fine, son," his father said. "Your mother did a good job on the length of the pants...here, let's button you up."

"Gosh, dad, really?" Sam said as his dad fiddled with the buttons on the jacket.

"I'm never going to a dance...girls are gross!" Stevie said.

"Someday, you'll change your mind," their mom said, laughing and messing with Sam's hair.

"I think Sammy looks absa-tutely handsome," Stacie said to him, looking up with a smile. Sam picked her up and hugged her.

"You'll go to a dance someday, won't you? And you'll be a princess," Sam said to her.

"Only if I can go with you," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He laughed. "I'll be an old man then!"

"Quinn will let you take me...she's nice..."

"Yeah, she is nice," he said, setting Stacie down. "But if I don't go pick her up, she won't be so nice."

He thanked his parents for the suit and the extra time on his curfew and headed over to Quinn's.

_xxxxx_

He pulled into Quinn's driveway, nervous, running a few minutes late. He smoothed down the front of his suit again and checked the pocket for the tickets, still there. He pulled the rear view mirror over and checked his hair, noting the nicks on his jaw, scowling. Everything had just gone so badly and ass backward at the motel room and he was in kind of a bad mood. He couldn't even take her out to eat; they were eating at her place. Again, he sighed. That seemed like the only thing he did nowadays. His prom proposal had been a big hit with Quinn, and he had been in a good mood for a few days after, then reality began setting in, slowly but surely, as they made arrangements for this evening. He had felt the stress building as prom day got closer but Quinn tried to lessen it for him, even though he had barely seen her in the days before prom thanks to working and school. Looking once more in the small mirror, he smiled...if nothing else, he'd be happy for his date.

"Quinny! He's here!" Frannie whisper-yelled from across the hall. Quinn was sitting at her vanity in her bedroom, waiting on him. She stood up, twirled around again, and went to the top of the staircase to wait to be called downstairs.

He rang the doorbell and after a few moments Quinn's mother answered. She was smiling and obviously very happy.

"Welcome Samuel, come in," she said to him.

"Uh, good evening, Mrs. Fabray," he said, a little unsure of himself and feeling very much on display.

"You are looking quite dapper tonight," she said to him, smiling. He wasn't sure what _dapper_ meant so he smiled back and said _thank you_.

She called upstairs for Quinn.

At the top of the staircase, Frannie was snapping pictures of Quinn who was blushing and nervous, as well. She began her descent toward Sam.

He trained his eyes on the staircase and saw first her dainty painted toes in sparkly sandals, peeking out from the hem of her pink gown. As she drew nearer to him, he knew that there was no way would he look appropriate next to her beauty. He saw the row of tiny flowers right at her boobs and then kept his eyes to her feet, feeling the blush creep up his cheeks.

She could see him waiting for her from where she stood. It pained her to see how gaunt he was; his dad's suit was clearly too large for him. But, she didn't care about the clothes he wore...she wanted to see his smile, wanted to see his eyes light up when he saw her, she just wanted to make all of it go away for one night for him.

Finally, she was standing before him on the next to last step and he had to look up at her. He felt his heart swell when he looked into her eyes. She saw only him, not his too-big suit, not his shaving nicks, not his out-of-control hair, but _him_. He smiled at her lopsidedly and the smile crept up to his eyes. He forgot all the problems from earlier that day and just saw _her_, she was glowing in her pink dress, her eyes and smile bright upon seeing him.

"I'm sorry I was late," he finally uttered, staring at her. "You're gorgeous..."

"S'ok, Sam, and thank you. You look absolutely handsome. Shall we go to dinner?"

"We shall..." He offered the crook of his elbow for her, and they went to the dining room.

Her mother and sister had set the large table for two, a setting at the end of the table and one setting to the right. There were long tapered candles lit, fresh flowers in a vase, all on a white linen tablecloth. Her mother's white china with 24-carat gold trim was out, along with the sterling silverware and crystal.

"Wow...this is awesome..." he said to her. He pulled out the chair at the head of the table and allowed her to sit down. He then sat down at the other seat and just stared at her.

"Hello Sam," Quinn's sister said to him as she filled his water glass. "Quinn has told me a lot about you...definitely all good."

"This is my sister Frannie, Sam," Quinn interjected. Frannie filled Quinn's water as Sam said hello.

"I'll be right back..." Frannie said, wandering back to the kitchen.

"She looks like an older version of you," Sam whispered. _Not nearly as pretty though_, he thought.

Frannie returned with what appeared to be a wine bottle. "Sparkling white grape juice..." she said, when she noticed Sam eyeballing the bottle. Quinn's mother came out and placed two plates of salad in front of them. She then set down a basket of warm bread.

"Enjoy!"

Then, Sam and Quinn were alone, nibbling at their salads and sipping their juice.

Sam looked at Quinn and took her hand. "I can't believe you're going with me tonight."

"There is no one else I'd rather be with..."

He leaned over to her and finally kissed her on the mouth. "I can't wait to dance with you."

She smiled. "I can't wait to be in your arms."

Her mother and sister came in and removed their salad plates and returned with the main course: grilled chicken, steamed veggies, and a baked sweet potato.

Sam felt a little strange being served by Quinn's family, but her mother and sister were obviously having a great time doing so. He thanked them many times, like his mother had reminded him to do.

Halfway through his chicken breast, he felt a hand on his knee, squeezing. He glanced at her, now blushing. He was suddenly thankful for the extra space in the pants he wore. She was moving her hand up his thigh slowly when her sister reappeared with their dessert. She pretended not to notice Quinn jerk her hand away.

Frannie removed their plates and set their dessert between them. It was strawberry shortcake, meant to be shared.

"Open up..." she said, spooning a bite of the strawberry and whipped cream. He did as she asked and she fed him a bite, adding a little whipped cream to the tip of his nose for good measure.

"Your turn..." he replied and fed her a bite, taking extreme care _not _to get any whipped cream anywhere on her.

They continued on in this fashion until the dessert was nearly finished. Her sister cleared their final plates and her mother brought out the flowers. Sam was shocked at how nice they looked. Quinn picked up his boutonniere to pin it on his lapel. He noticed her hands shaking.

"Are you nervous?" he whispered to her.

"A little...I don't want to poke you..."

"Um, do I have to pin yours on?"

"I think so..."

"Oh god..."

He picked up what he was supposed to pin on the front of Quinn's dress, pink and white tulips surrounded by baby's breath, tied with a pink ribbon. He was trembling as he took the top of her dress, right over her boob (the one he had not touched as of yet), and tried to stab the pin through the fabric without puncturing her, or himself, or ripping her dress. She watched him work with it carefully, his face in deep thought, the tip of his tongue poking out between his lips. Finally, somehow, he got it to work and the flowers stayed on her. He was glad it wasn't a huge array of flowers or else it would distract from her natural beauty.

Her mother took pictures the entire time they messed with the boutonniere and corsage and finally it was deemed they needed to get to the dance.

Finally, in Sam's car, he asked her, "Are you not wearing a bra?"

She blushed a little and shook her head _no_.

"I didn't think so...this is gonna be a _good _night!"

_xxxxx_

At the school, before going inside, he kissed her, a seriously long kiss. Since the makeout session right before he found out he was homeless, there had been no time for anything more than kissing and hugging. He was totally fine with that but when she had been squeezing his thigh earlier the hormones kind of came back in a rush. Then, while pinning on her corsage, he had unintentionally peeked down her dress (no bra). So, now, in the parking lot outside the gym, in the shadows of early evening, he kissed her like he meant it.

His kiss took her breath away. "I've missed you, Sam..." she nearly gasped at the end of it.

He swallowed thickly. "I've missed you too."

After a couple more intense kisses, they both sat back, breathing deeply.

"Wow..." Quinn whispered. Everything about him that night was making her tingly.

He looked over at her, the moonlight shining into his car. "Wow..." he mumbled.

"Um, are you ready to go in?" she asked finally.

"Uh, yeah..." He hopped out of the car and jogged around to her side and opened her door, helping her out. Most days, she looked girly and dainty, but that evening she just looked jaw-dropping gorgeous. He was still amazed that she'd be on his arm at the dance.

At the door, Artie was checking tickets. He returned the fancy tickets to Sam as keepsakes and ushered them into the dance. They found seats at a table with Mike and Tina and Mercedes and Shane. A rented band was playing some live music, then some DJ music. They fired up AC/DC's _You Shook Me All Night Long_, so naturally Sam and Quinn hit the dance floor.

They were having fun dancing with their friends, then would dance with one another, then take a break for some punch while Coach Sylvester stood guard by the punch bowl.

"What're you looking at, Blondie?" she growled at Sam.

"Nothing, ma'am," he said, taking his cup and Quinn's cup back to their table, rolling his eyes as he did so.

He sat down next to Quinn who was laughing at something Mike was talking about.

"Are we having fun?" he asked, leaning in close to her.

"Very much so..." she said, pecking him on the lips. He turned toward her and she faced him, squeezing her knees between his legs.

"It's my turn for a slow dance next..." he said quietly, trailing a loose strand of her hair, then tucking it behind her ear. She had had slow dances with their friends and he had danced with other girls as a friendly gesture.

"You may have the next dance, Samuel," she replied, placing her hands on his knees. She leaned in to kiss him yet again but got tapped on the shoulder by Principal Figgins who was making the rounds.

"Now, now, Miss Fabray, please use some discretion," he said, wandering off. Once he was bothering another couple, she got her kiss in.

The fast Katy Perry song went to a slow song, _She Will Be Loved _by Maroon 5.

"C'mon...this one is yours..." she said, taking his hand and leading him to the dance floor.

She fit into his arms easily, wrapping her arms up around his neck, playing with the blonde hair that curled down over his collar. He put his hands on her hips, pulling her in a bit.

They swayed together, Quinn resting her head on Sam's shoulder. He finally moved his hands up her back a bit, feeling the soft fabric under his fingers.

_Look for the girl with the broken smile,  
>Ask her if she wants to stay awhile...<em>

Over his shoulder, Quinn watched Finn and Rachel slow dancing, Mike and Tina, Brittany sitting on Artie's lap, Mercedes and Shane, Kurt and Blaine, and Santana arguing with Dave Karofsky by the prom king/queen voting table. Puck was switching partners every few minutes.

_My heart is full and my door's always open,  
>You come anytime you want...<em>

"Thanks for tonight, Q. Dinner, the flowers, you..." Sam said quietly, his breath warm on his neck.

She leaned back to look at him. "I'm just happy to be here with you, Sam Evans."

"Someday, I'll repay you with everything you deserve..."

"You don't get it, do you?"

"What?"

"I have all I want with you," she whispered, resting her head back on his shoulder.

_And she will be loved,  
>She will be loved...<em>

Principal Figgins made an appearance on stage at the end of the song.

"McKinley High students, we hope you are enjoying your prom and the wonderful music provided by the LimaTones." He stopped to applaud the band. "Now, to announce your prom king and prom queen."

Rachel delivered the envelope to Figgins as she was also serving on the prom committee. Figgins opened the envelope and announced prom king: _Dave Karofsky_. There was awkward applause as a smiling Dave approached the stage to accept the crown. Figgins looked down to read the name for prom queen and hesitated, looking out to the crowd.

"And your prom queen is...Kurt Hummel," he said in a flat tone.

Very awkward applause ensued and whispers and snickers drifted through the crowd. A door slammed and they realized Kurt had run from the gym. Blaine followed him and everything was at a standstill. Quinn stood in front of Sam, his arms wrapped around her. Mercedes and Shane stood next to them, also in shock.

"Is Kurt okay?" Mercedes asked Quinn.

"I don't know...Karofsky looks upset too," Quinn replied.

Karofsky remained on stage with Figgins, the smile gone and his face red. Kurt finally returned and went on stage to accept his crown.

"Eat your heart out, Kate Middleton!" he said, smiling. There was applause then and the two boys walked to the middle of the crowd for the customary dance. The music began but Karofsky fled the gym then, leaving Kurt standing alone, his crown sitting jauntily atop his head. Blaine slipped up next to him, asked if he could have that dance, and the other couples joined in.

Sam twirled Quinn around before pulling her close for the dance. Tons of balloons of all colors were falling from the ceiling around them.

"That was insane. I voted for Mike and Tina...who'd you vote for?" he asked her.

"Mike and Tina!" They glanced over at Blaine and Kurt dancing and smiling.

"At least they look happy about it," Sam said, turning back to Quinn, kissing her forehead.

_When I want you in my arms,  
>When I want you and all your charms,<br>Whenever I want you all I have to do is dream...  
>Dream, dream, dream...<em>

Quinn touched her lips to Sam's neck, inhaling his soapy scent. She kissed him lightly there, then moved her way up to his cheek, kissing his tiny nicks. He could feel his heart racing as her lips traveled upward. He felt her kiss his jaw line so he turned slowly into her and met her lips with his. He tasted strawberry, probably from dessert. This time, he initiated the deeper kiss, opening his mouth a bit, searching for her tongue.

_When I feel blue in the night,  
>And I need you to hold me tight,<br>Whenever I want you,  
>All I have to do is dream...<em>

She responded, lightly touching his tongue. He tasted like strawberries; she wanted more of his taste and wrapped her arms tightly behind his neck to hold him in place. She felt his hands on her back, then his thumbs at the sides of her breasts rubbing them there. She brought her hands down to the front of his shirt, placing them squarely on his pecs. Even though he wore an undershirt under the dress shirt, she could feel his nipples harden almost instantly at her touch.

_I need you so that I could die,  
>I love you so and that is why,<br>Whenever I want you,  
>All I have to do is dream...<em>

Her small hands on his chest did things to him that he didn't even know could happen, such as give him an instant boner. And with that instant boner and dancing so close to her, he could feel it bumping into her. He watched her glance down between them, then back to his eyes, then her lips were on his again.

"God, Sam..." she mumbled, pressing herself against him, feeling his hardness touching her.

"Yeah?" He didn't know what else to say to that.

"I-I wanna touch it...touch you..."

"Uh, um..." He didn't know if she meant there on the dance floor or what. What he _did_ know was he wanted her to touch him.

"In your car..."

He swallowed and licked his lips. They went to their table, picked up their belongings, said quick goodbyes to their friends, and left the gym.

_xxxxx_

In his car, they were squashed up against one another in the front seat, her legs dangling over his. He had thrown his suit jacket to the back seat, along with her clutch. Their arms were wrapped around one another, and they couldn't stop kissing. They were both moaning in pleasure. Her hands again went to his chest, rubbing her fingers over his nipples, and again he was achingly hard. He wanted to touch her breast again but wasn't sure if he should go for it or ask or...

She let one shoulder slip out of her dress, exposing her boob to him. He reached for her, touching her in the moonlight, kissing her gently. He looked down at her breast, perky and ready for him, so he kissed her there. She gasped, not expecting that, but let him continue. He kissed her soft skin around the nipple, then touched her nipple with his tongue hesitantly. He ran his tongue around her, then sucked her into his mouth. Her whole body shuddered then, and she groaned. He felt her hips jerk next to his thigh.

Suddenly, his mouth was gone from her breast, and he was kissing her. "I think I need, uh, uh, to stop..."

He didn't want to stop, but his cock was hard and he was afraid of another accident and somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered it was his father's pants he was wearing. She pouted at him.

"Please?" she asked, her hand drifting down to his belly.

_Well, she said the magic word_, he thought giddily and kissed her hard, his hand fiddling with his belt. He managed to get that undone, then opened the top button of his pants and unzipped them. He wasn't sure what she meant by _touching him there_, over his underwear, _under _them?

Her fingers drifted down until she felt the waistband of his underwear. She didn't expect the heat that was radiating from him. Hesitantly, she moved her fingers lightly over his rigid length, eliciting a groan from him. She kept her lips on his as her hand moved farther south. She touched a wet spot on his underwear toward the top of his penis.

"Has it already happened?" she asked. She didn't know.

He swallowed thickly. "Has what already happened?"

"You know..." She rubbed her finger around the wet spot.

"Uh, no, not yet..." He went back to kissing her but now put his hand on her thigh, under her skirt.

She moved her palm up and down his length, staying over his underwear. It was obviously making him feel good; he was squeezing her thigh in the same rhythm.

Her touch was light on him, which was good because otherwise he'd be done. He wanted more, though, her hand on his hard cock. He took his hand away from her thigh and slipped his thumb in the waistband of his briefs, pulling them down slightly.

"You said you wanted to touch it," he mumbled deeply when her hand stopped moving.

"I do..."

"Okay..." He slipped the pants and briefs down to his mid thigh, then put his hand back under her skirt and began kissing her neck.

At first, she didn't know what to do so she looked down at it. It was standing up from a patch of hair, not small, shiny at the tip in the moonlight. She wrapped her hand around him and he groaned as she squeezed him.

"Ugh...oh wow..." he said against her neck, pressing his hand into her thigh. He could now touch the edge of her panties and felt like he could die a happy man.

His penile skin was soft and smooth; it moved easily over the rigid muscle beneath it. She moved her hand up and down slowly, running her thumb over the tip and feeling the bit of wetness already coming from him. At one point, she let her fingers touch his scrotum, and he grunted.

"Do I need to go faster?" she asked him, still stroking him slowly. To him, her hand felt divine, much different than his own hand. She was gentle and soft and slow. It was holding off his orgasm in the best way. Going faster, though, intrigued him.

He nodded and mumbled _uh huh_.

She gripped him tightly and started pumping up and down quickly. This feeling was entirely different than her earlier touch; it was more like his own hand now. He felt himself nearing the end fast. He moved his hand out from under her skirt and pushed up the dress shirt as far as he could. Rocking his hips into her hand, he came hard on his bare stomach, grunting with each squirt of ejaculate. She kept moving her hand up and down, now covered in jizz, until he stopped her with his own hand...he was nearly jumping out of his skin from the sensitivity of his orgasm.

"Oh my god, Sam, that was awesome!" she said breathlessly, kissing his cheek as he lay against the seat panting.

"You watched?"

"Well, yeah!"

He looked at her with a look of shock crossing his face.

"I'm sorry that it happens so fast...I'll try to learn to control it better," he said, sheepishly, pulling his briefs up over his sticky penis.

"Practice makes perfect, right?" she said, giggling.

He laughed with her. "Yeah, totally. I think there's, uh, napkins in the glove box..."

She reached over and pulled some out, wiping off her hand, then handing them to him.

"So...did you enjoy it?" she asked as he cleaned off his belly.

He chuckled. "More than you'll ever know, Q. You were the first one to ever do that for me."

"Really? I mean, you're, like a, a..."

"Yeah, sorry to disappoint you but I've never done it..." He knew her history.

"Why would that disappoint me? If anything, you should be disappointed in _me_," she said, playing with the skirt of her dress.

He took her hands, making her face him. "That is a part of who you are and I love all of you, Quinn. You could never disappoint me."

She smiled a little. "Thanks, Sam. You wanna take a drive? I don't want my Cinderella evening to end just yet..."

"Sure..." He kissed her quickly and refastened his pants, leaving his shirt out, and fired up his car.

He left the school parking lot and drove to the lake where they fed the ducks occasionally. He parked so they could look out over the lake, the moon shining high above them now.

They sat there quietly for a moment, holding hands.

"Sam?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you want to do? Like, when you're a grownup?" she asked him. He looked over at her.

"Umm...I have no idea, I guess...what about you?" he asked, feeling like an ass.

"I think I wanna do something to make a difference...maybe like a teacher? Or help kids, ya know?"

"You'd be good at that, Quinn," he said to her.

"You think so?"

"Well, yeah. Kids love you, especially Stacie. You're smart and pretty and you kinda have experience with stuff..." he said, scooting closer to her. "I'd be afraid to work around kids."

"Why?"

"Well, we'd probably wind up playing a game or just being silly and nothing would get done," he said, laughing. "When I was in the hospital, they sent me to the physical therapy department a couple times and I saw people in there working with kids. I don't know, that might be something. Where do you think you'll go to college?"

"Hmm, I don't know," she said quietly, leaning into him. "Probably somewhere close..."

Neither one of them said anything but it was obvious that she was thinking of staying close because to him.

"You're so smart...you should go to one of the best schools..." he said, running his fingers over her skirt. "I can't believe I totally kissed your boob tonight."

She burst out laughing. "You did! And it felt really good..."

"Really?"

"So did your hand on my butt..."

"You know what?"

"What?" she whispered.

He blushed in the darkness. "I kinda wanna touch you too."

"Really?"

"Mhmm..." He couldn't believe he was being so forward with her. He was usually very shy and reserved around her but that night things seemed to have shifted.

Looking him in the eye, she took one of his hands and placed it on her thigh under her skirt.

The only sound in the car was the music playing softly on the radio. Sam pressed his lips to Quinn's, concentrating on the smooth skin of her bare thigh under his hand. He quickly moved his hand up to her hip, finding the fabric of her panties again.

_This is big, way bigger than touching her booby, oh my god_...he thought. The kissing, her hands in his hair, his hand on her panties...it didn't take too much of that before his erection was straining at his pants again. He moved his fingers over until he was squarely between her legs, finding her panties damp there. She opened her knees a bit, and he slid his finger downward. Her breathing against him became shallow; he was holding his breath.

She could feel his fingers trembling against her skin. The time for 'all about the teasing' was long past..._my mother can suck it_, Quinn thought. She wanted to share this with Sam, badly actually, and wasn't going to stop him or keep him waiting any longer. She could feel his hesitancy as he moved his hand over her. She broke their kissing and rested her forehead against his shoulder, occasionally kissing his neck and ear. She snaked her arm under his and ran her palm over the front of his pants.

He quietly grunted when he felt her hand back on him, rubbing him outside his pants. He could feel the insides of her thighs, how she was squirming around. There was just so much going on at once; it was overwhelming to him. He found the top of her panties; he had to feel her, wanted to know what she felt like with no clothing between them.

His fingers slipped down inside her panties slowly. He felt soft hair, which he expected, but then the wetness was something he _definitely _did not expect. He felt her lips there, then used his middle finger to slide between them, causing her to gasp against his neck.

"Oh god, did I hurt you?" he asked suddenly.

"No, no..." she mumbled. If anything, he nearly sent her into orbit.

It was hot and wet between her legs. He slid his finger up and down, sometimes adding a second finger, feeling all of her. He pressed a finger into her finally, causing them both to moan. He also was somehow aware that her hand was moving fast on him and there was going to be a mess there soon. Her walls were tight around his finger, clenching him almost. He moved his finger in and out of her slowly, not quite sure what to do.

"God, Quinn..." he huffed out. The friction of her palm on his cock was driving him insane plus his finger inside her heat, his entire hand wet.

"Are you going to?" she asked against his neck.

"Yeah, yes..._fuck_..." _Oops, that slipped out_, he thought.

He couldn't stop his hips from moving against her hand but felt her hips gyrating also. She slipped her hand inside his trousers, gripping his length over his briefs. He felt the heat coiling in his center, knowing he was going to unload soon. He found her lips and they shoved their tongues against each other's and he spilled over in his briefs, grunting through it again. He sat there, panting, willing his heart rate to calm down.

"Sam..." she whispered to him.

"Yeah?"

She moved her hips against his hand; he had stopped everything he was doing to her when he orgasmed. He immediately started up again, moving in closer to her.

"Quinn, god, I love you so freakin' much..." he whispered, moving his finger faster in and out of her. He added a second finger and let her rub against him the way she needed to.

It felt good to her, though she wasn't quite sure if she was going to wind up feeling as good as Sam did. She was pretty sure she had never experienced an orgasm so wasn't sure what to expect. She hated doing it, but she faked her way through one that night, too embarrassed to tell him where to move his hand to.

Her breathing picked up against his cheek. "Ah...ah...ah...oh my..._god_..."

He was surprised that he made her come...he thought that that was what happened...he didn't know what he was doing. He removed his hand slowly while her breathing calmed down, resting his hand on her thigh.

"That was my...my first time...doing that...did it feel okay?" he asked her shyly.

She nodded. "It felt great..."

"It did feel great," he said, smiling. He took his hand out from under dress then and let her smooth her skirt back down. Trying to be nonchalant about it, he smelled his fingers. Her scent was unique and very much her, much like when he came. It was a bit sweet, musky, sweaty. She reached into the glove box for more napkins and handed him some. He cleaned himself up and stepped out of the car to throw the napkins away.

When he returned to the car, he saw that he had 15 minutes to get home.

He pulled her close to him. "I hate having to leave you."

"I hate it too," she said, kissing him lightly, running her fingers over his hands.

"Maybe we can study a little espanol after church tomorrow?" he asked, chuckling.

"Sure, sounds perfect," she replied. He started the car and headed toward her house.

_xxxxx_

He walked her to her front door.

"I've had a lovely evening, Sam," she said, holding his hands. "It was perfect."

"I wish I could've done more for you...maybe next year?"

She smiled; his heart melted. "I don't have any plans..."

He hugged her tightly, then let her go. "I'll see you in the morning, Q." He kissed her cheek. "I love you..."

"I love you too, Samuel," she whispered and went into her house.

He drove to the motel on cloud nine. It didn't even bother him to sleep on the pull-out bed...his dreams were full of Lucy Quinn Fabray that night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Let Me Hold You**

_**Chapter 4**_

_1,2,3,4 Nationals... 3,6,8,9 New York... 10,15,18,11 Money... _That was all Sam could think. He was in the weight room, trying to distract himself with all the counting, but even counting and working out wasn't helping. He kept losing count of where he was up to, therefore having to start again. After the third time of starting again, Sam gave up and just sat with his head in his hands.

In Glee Club, Mr. Schue had reminded them that in one week, their final payments for Nationals in New York were due. The last payment was $200. Sam's parents had previously paid the rest before his dad had lost his job, and they had been putting bits of money aside to pay the final payment. But when they had lost their home, his parents had needed the money that was being saved, and all thought of Nationals was pushed to the back of everyone's minds. Until now. Sam didn't know what to do. There was no way his parents could afford it, they were struggling to buy food as it was, and it was basically Sam's tips that paid for the motel room. And there was no way in hell he was going to ask anyone for money, that was rude, and besides, Sam was too proud for that. But if Sam didn't go to Nationals, none of them could go because they wouldn't have enough members to compete. Sam was torn.

_xxxxx_

Quinn was worried about Sam. Ever since Mr. Schue had brought up Nationals costs, Sam was quiet. She knew the problem, and so did everyone else, but they were too caught up in their own worlds to care. She had thought of offering him money, but she knew he would never accept that. He was too damn proud. She loved that about him, though, that he was willing to fight for what he wanted without taking the easy way out. He was much stubborn, but she understood.

Quinn knew that this was serious, especially when he walked off on her after school without saying goodbye. She knew exactly what she had to do.

She grabbed her car keys, ran home and grabbed the oldest loaf of bread, and drove to the lake where they had been going to be alone since the day they paddleboated after Glee Club learned of Sam's situation. She knew he'd be there.

_xxxxx_

Sam was sitting on a picnic table, staring out at the lake. He felt the table move as someone sat next to him, and immediately knew who it was. Quinn reached over and grabbed his hand, and just sat with him. Sam knew he didn't have to say anything, he knew that she understood. And for that he was glad, he wasn't ready to talk. He reclined back, keeping hold of Quinn's hand.

Quinn knew that Sam would talk when he was ready, so she just lay down on the table next to him and held his hand, silently letting him know that she was there and would listen when he was ready to talk.

Finally, Sam spoke up. "I don't know what to do Quinn. I can't afford to go, but if I don't, I'm letting everyone down, especially you." That was bothering Sam the most. He knew how much Quinn wanted to go to New York. And, if he didn't go, he was ripping that from her.

"Sam, I really don't care if I don't go to New York this year. I've decided that if you don't go, neither will I. I know I said I wanted to go to New York, but I want to go with you. If you don't go, then I don't want to either."

Sam was shocked when he heard her say that. "Quinn! No! You are going to go to New York, with or without me. I know how much it means to you. I see that sparkle in your eyes when you talk about it. I know that it has always been your dream, to go to New York and experience the city life. I will not take that away from you!"

Quinn shook her head. "Yes Sam, I have always wanted to go to New York. And yes it was always one of my dreams. But now my dream is to experience it with you. I will get the chance to go some other time and you'll go with me. And then it will be me fulfilling my dream because I would've been and experienced New York with you!"

Sam couldn't believe that Quinn was willing to miss New York just for him. He sat up, pulled her to him, and hugged her tightly. "Thank you Quinn. You don't know how much it means to me that you are willing to miss going to New York and stay here with me, just so I don't feel bad! You are amazing, you know that? I love you so much right now Q. So much! You are my hero Quinn."

Quinn hugged Sam back just as tightly. "You're welcome, Sam. I always pictured us going together, and that hasn't changed. You are the amazing one. You make me so proud to call you my boyfriend, Sam. You always fight for what you want, and you never give up! I love you too! No Sam, you are my hero. You made me a better person!"

"We helped each other Quinn," Sam told her before leaning in and kissing her passionately on the mouth. She kissed him back with just as much passion. She nipped on his bottom lip, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. He did the same and they enjoyed each other immensely on the picnic table for several minutes before finally needing to take a break.

When they both were about to pass out from a lack of oxygen, they pulled apart, gasping for air. Sam put his arm around her and pulled her close. She snuggled into his chest, enjoying the moment between them.

"I brought bread," Quinn said, looking up at Sam through her eye lashes.

Sam laughed, getting what she meant. "Ok well then let's go get a paddleboat and let you experience the wonders of duck feeding!"

Quinn laughed too, loving that her Sam was back to his usual goofy self.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the lake feeding the ducks, enjoying each other's company, and laughing, something that Sam hadn't done in a long time.

_xxxxx_

The next day in Glee Club, everyone could see that Sam was happier than he had been in ages. They all thought that things were finally getting better for Sam's family, none of them realizing how his happiness would be affecting them.

Sam and Quinn were sitting in the back row, his arms around her waist, her practically sitting on his lap, both of them laughing and being intimate with each other. They both had genuine smiles on their faces, both truly happy for the first time since prom.

Throughout the lesson, Sam kept whispering stuff in Quinn's ear, leaving soft kisses, and making her have to bite her lip to stop from laughing out loud. She was trying to concentrate, but with his lips at her ear, that just wasn't possible.

At the end of the lesson, the couple walked up to Mr. Schue, holding hands to tell him that neither of them could make it to New York.

"Why hello you two. What can I do for you?" Mr. Schue asked them with a smile on his face. Even he had noticed the difference with them.

"Um.. Mr. Schue we just wanted to tell you that neither of us are able to come to New York…" Quinn said.

Mr. Schue's face fell. He hadn't expected this. "Oh…why not? Sam, I understand your situation, but Quinn?" Mr. Schue had been wondering if Sam would be able to go because of his current predicament. He was shocked though when Quinn told him that she wasn't going either.

They had been prepared for this and had already came up with a story for Quinn. "Mr. Schue, my mom has recently became an alcoholic. I need to stay behind and make sure she doesn't do anything that could harm her, seeing as it is only the two of us."

Mr. Schue wasn't sure if that was true or not, but decided not to further question her. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that Quinn. I wish that you could both make it but maybe next year."

"Thanks, Mr. Schue. We are sorry, but this is inevitable. Good Luck at Nationals!" Quinn said.

"Thank you, Quinn. Don't worry, I understand. Have a good day." Mr. Schue replied, a sad look on his face, already thinking of who to find to replace Sam and Quinn.

"You too Mr. Schue," Quinn said before leading Sam out of the room.

Outside the room, Quinn turned quickly and kissed Sam. "Well, that went better than I expected!" she said.

Sam chuckled. "Yes, it did. Come on. Let's go babysit the terrors!"

Quinn hit him on the arm. "They are not terrors! They are adorable little angels!" she said while laughing.

Sam laughed with her. "They are only adorable around you. When you leave their inner devils come out and cause hell for me!"

"Whatever you say, Sammy! They just like me better!" Quinn joked.

"Everyone likes you! I know I do" Sam said, staring at her lovingly.

Quinn turned around and smiled at him. She leaned in and kissed him. "I like you too Sammy!"

Sam kissed her back, smiled at her, and the put his arm around Quinn's waist, and led her towards the parking lot.

_xxxxx_

Two weeks before school ended for the year, Sam was sitting on the grass next to _their lake_, Quinn sitting between his legs taking in the sun. He had just quietly told her his bad news…his father had found a job out of state.

"When?" Quinn asked in disbelief.

"Right after school's finished..." he said quietly, meaning they only had a couple weeks left together before he moved to Terre Haute, Indiana.

She sat up from him, tears brimming her eyes, threatening to fall down her cheeks. "This is a joke, right? You're kidding me, Sam...please tell me this is all a joke..."

Quinn prided herself on being independent even though in her heart she knew she depended on Sam's friendship a lot more than she let on. With him by her side this school year, she had made big strides in coming back better than ever from the pregnancy incident the year before. It wasn't so much popularity she was focused on now, it was more her future she thought of. Was he in her future? She had thought so but now with this new information things were suddenly sliding out of her control.

He hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry Quinn..." was all he said to her.

_xxxxx_

Two weeks later, Sam was helping load the UHaul truck his father had rented for the move. It was a smaller truck since they had very few possessions. It was bittersweet for him...they were finally getting out of that tiny motel room and moving into a two-bedroom rental home...but in Terre Haute, Indiana. His parents said it was a nice home, small, but better than a motel. His father had already been in Terre Haute working, coming back to Lima on the weekends. He heard a funny little beep and turned around, seeing Quinn pull up in her Volkswagen Beetle. She was going to follow them that day so she'd know how to get to his house, then she would be turning around and coming back to Lima that evening. She had been dreading this day for the last two weeks but plastered on a smile when she saw Sam and his family. She parked her car next to Sam's and got out. He was waiting for her at the UHaul.

"Hi hottie," she said, curling into him. He was wearing black basketball shorts and a black wife-beater and she didn't think he could look any hotter than what he did.

"I stink...don't get too close," he said, pecking her on the cheek. "You look really cute."

She was wearing a pair of her black cheerleading shorts and a red McKinley High t-shirt, her hair in a high ponytail.

"Thanks...does your mom need any help?"

"I doubt it...she has Stevie and Stacie helping her," he said, glancing over his shoulder at the open door of the motel room. "You can help me." He winked at her.

"Oh really? Looks like you have several large boxes to load up..." she laughed.

"I'm just kiddin'...I need to drive this thing over to the storage shed and empty it out...wanna come with?"

"Sure..."

She watched him load up the boxes sitting outside the motel room, then climbed into the cab of the truck while he told his parents where they were going. He unloaded the storage shed fairly quickly and she helped when able. He turned in the keys and got their deposit back, then he and Quinn grabbed a quick bite to eat.

"Are you ready for this, Sam?" she asked him as they ate their lunch outside. He squinted at her. What he wanted to say was hell no, he wasn't ready to leave her, he didn't want to be farther away from her than in their two separate homes in Lima, that he couldn't even begin to imagine not seeing her daily, or touching her, or kissing her, that he felt like his heart was breaking. For the last two weeks, they both had largely ignored talking about this.

He forced a smile. "I s'pose I'm ready...I guess I have to be, right?"

She smiled a little. "Right."

They had already decided on what to do over the summer, if they were able. He had to find a part-time job in Terre Haute so they hoped she could visit at least once a month. He would call her whenever he could; they wouldn't have a landline phone for awhile or a computer. To both of them, it felt like all ties of communication were being severed.

"C'mere..." he said and she scooted over next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. "I'm gonna miss you so, so much. You know that, right?"

She felt the tears building up but wouldn't allow them to fall, not in front of him. "I know...you know I'll miss you too..."

"I know..." he whispered.

They sat there in their lover's embrace for a few minutes longer, silently, then cleaned up their lunch and returned to the motel.

_xxxxx_

"God Sam..." she managed to say, her breathing shallow.

They were in the back seat of his car parked at a nearby park in Terre Haute, Indiana, spending their last few moments together squashed together, Quinn edging closer and closer to him.

"Uh..." he mumbled. His hand was down her shorts between her legs, his fingers pumping in and out of her. Her hand was in a similar position, down his shorts, gripping his cock.

They had 'practiced' enough at this in the past few weeks that he now could hold off his orgasm longer and was learning more about her anatomy, specifically her clitoris, after watching some porn at Artie's.

Her other hand was gripping him behind his neck, sometimes running her fingers through his hair. Before he knew it, her hand was gone from his shorts and her tanned slim legs were straddling his thighs, something they had never done up to this point.

"Uh..." he mumbled again. He slipped his hand out of her shorts and looked up at her as she pressed herself down against his hardness. He gulped.

"Quinn, I-I..." He wanted to say maybe they shouldn't do this because she was leaving, they wouldn't be seeing each other until who knew when, but he couldn't verbalize the words.

She kissed his cheeks, then his lips. "I wanted to leave you with something to remember me by..."

She then proceeded to rock herself back and forth on top of him. He let his eyes slip shut and rested his head on the seat behind him. He could feel the heat radiating from her, enveloping him. He had thought often of what it might be like to make love to her but really had no idea and now this was bringing him closer to that reality. He let his mind drift to how his fingers felt when he pushed in and out of her but instead of his fingers he thought of it being his penis. When she'd moan or gasp next to his ear, it'd draw him out of his hazy thoughts and he'd think _we are so dry humping! _but then realize their shorts were wet between them so it wasn't so dry.

He gripped her hips and began moving with her rhythm, meeting the soft wet apex of her thighs with his cock. He knew in an instant he'd give anything to rip their shorts off and enter her, be one with her, but he let it go at her pace since she was the one who instigated the situation.

She really wasn't sure what to do on top of him; she just knew that she wanted to press her body against his. The only other time she had had sex she had not been in control and really didn't remember what happened. Now, with Sam, she had a good idea what she wanted and that was to feel his private parts rubbing against her private parts. She wasn't sure she was ready to go all the way with him but she felt that was on the horizon and really did want to leave him with something to remember, as well as experiencing this herself. She felt his hands go to her hips and felt him beginning to respond, his breathing rapid next to her ear.

"Quinn, jesus god I want you right now..." he stammered. He wrapped one arm around her back, then slid his thumb into the leg of her shorts, finding her wet pussy again. He found the hard nub and pressed his thumb against her.

The feeling was intense and sent shockwaves through her belly.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh my god _Sam_..." The words tumbled from her lips when she felt his thumb on her. She kept rocking her hips on him, kissing him, sucking on his lip.

"Come for me, Q..." he mumbled...not even sure where those words came from.

She bit her lip and moaned with pleasure at the sound of his voice, his lips on her neck. He was doing something right in the right spot for her, and she grinded on him harder, lost in her own ecstasy. He had known for some time that she was faking orgasms because her reaction, though she tried to be convincing, was generic and her body was back to normal almost instantly where it took him a few minutes to come down from his. So, he had been doing some research recently.

He slipped the top of his shorts down enough to let the head of his cock out and instantly felt all her heat against him. The crotch of her shorts was soaked by now and the friction was unbearable for him. He kissed her hard and pushed her up enough to where she was riding the head of his cock, his thumb still pressing her clit rhythmically.

She felt her belly tighten, almost like she had to pee, when the feeling coursed through her, numbing her lady parts, causing her knees to tremble. She groaned into his hair, amazed by how amazing the feeling was. After it happened, he kept pressing that spot on her and it kept recreating the same feeling until she was gasping for breath.

He felt her trembling on him, her moans, her breath, how her body responded every time he pressed his thumb against her and knew he had made her orgasm. His own was building, especially now that he had unrestrained his cock a little. He groaned a little as he felt his balls draw up and felt the overwhelming feeling of getting ready to overflow. He thrust up at her hard a couple times and she glanced down between them, just in time to watch him shoot up onto his shirt. She could tell it was milky white even in the darkness of the car and it happened three times and then just spilled over onto his shorts. It was then she realized his cock was outside of his shorts a little. He saw her looking and embarrassed he quickly pulled his shorts up.

"I-I'm sorry, Q, I couldn't help it," he muttered, kissing her collarbone. "God, I just don't want this to end..."

She leaned against his chest, inhaling his scent. "Me either, Sam..."

He rubbed his hands up and down her back for awhile, then smirked a little. "Did I make you feel good?"

"Outta this world, Sam..." she whispered, playing with a lock of his hair. She slid off his lap and sat down next to him in the back seat, rubbing her hand over his bare knee. "I don't want this to end either..."

He swallowed, not knowing what to say. He turned to face her, taking both her hands in his. "I'll call you as soon as I can, okay? So you can come visit. Or, or, I can come to Lima...I don't care...we'll find a way to be together, Quinn, I promise you that."

"You promise me, Sam?" she said quietly, her voice quavering a bit.

"With all my heart, Quinn...you're the girl for me...we'll figure this thing out..." he said, hugging her.

They drove back to his new house, and she said goodbye to his parents and Stevie and Stacie. Standing next to her car, they held one another one last time.

"Just be careful driving back, okay? And call my parents when you get to Lima..." he said to her.

"I will...I have something for you..."

She reached for her purse through the car window and searched for a bit, finding what she wanted. She picked up his right hand and slid her dainty class ring onto his pinky finger. He looked at the ruby in the moonlight, her name on the side, the cheerleader on the other side, the year she would graduate, 2012.

He sucked in his breath. "I'm gonna miss you so much, Quinn. I'm not saying goodbye though and neither are you. We'll talk soon, okay?" He hugged her again. "I love you, Lucy Quinn Fabray...you have my promise..."

He felt her shudder a bit in his arms, then she kissed his neck, then his lips, a lingering soft kiss. When he opened his eyes, she was brushing away a stray tear.

"We'll talk soon," she smiled. "And I love you too Samuel Jonathon Evans!"

He watched her pull out of the drive and down his new street, to the corner, and turned toward Lima. Once he couldn't see her tail lights anymore, he kissed the tiny ring on his finger and went inside to set up his new sleeping area, a pull-out couch he was sharing with Stevie.


	5. Chapter 5

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 5**

A month had passed. They had spoken less than five times to one another; Sam had found a part-time job at a McDonald's but his hours were way more than part-time there; he picked up extra when he could. His job meant working every weekend, since he was the new guy. He heard the disappointment in Quinn's voice when he told her that news. His family had a landline phone hooked up but still were paying off massive debt and couldn't afford even a cheap computer or internet service. Sam found the public library, signed up for a card, and used the public computers when he was able so that he could email Quinn, which wasn't often enough for his liking. He'd open his email account and find five or six emails from her, updating him about what was going on that summer in Lima. According to her, that was not a lot. She helped out with a cheerleading camp for little girls that she said Stacie would've loved, she had been out to lunch with the Glee Club kids a couple times, and her sister Frannie was home for the summer. His updates were boring, he knew it, mentioning only how crappy his job was and how he had babysitting duty since his mom had also found a job. He said it was hot and smelled bad in Terre Haute and all he could think of was her. She'd attach pictures to her emails of herself and his heart would ache for her.

In July, the emails became fewer and fewer. Sam made some friends with the other kids who worked at the McDonald's, who would be going to Terre Haute North High School with him in the fall, and he noticed that emails from Quinn had slowed down as well. They kept missing each other when they'd try to call, either he'd be at work or out with his new friends or she'd be out with Frannie or hanging with Brittany and Santana. One night, she called his house and Stevie answered. She asked if Sam was home and Stevie asked her if she was Kate. She bit her lip and hung up the phone quietly. That must be one of his new friends, she kept telling herself, but he didn't return her call that night or the next night. Of course, he didn't know she had called in the first place, but that fact escaped Quinn's uneasy mind.

Kate was a girl who worked at McDonald's with Sam. She was tomboyish and hung out with the guys. Sam found her easy to talk to and talked to her _a lot _about Quinn. One thing worrying him was the undeniable fact they were drifting apart. Kate listened to him and tried to give advice but she had never had a boyfriend and kind of felt herself falling for Sam. He never let on that he thought of her as anything more than a friend and she never pushed the issue, knowing he was in love with a girl in another state, and she just remained his friend. She'd see him toying with the slim gold ring on his little finger often, knowing he was thinking of the invisible girl. She figured someday soon this Quinn would blow into Terre Haute and dash all her hopes. She decided she'd deal with that then if it ever happened, until then she'd be Sam's friend.

In Lima, Quinn was spending more and more time hanging out with Frannie and her older friends. She had confided in her sister that she thought Sam might be seeing other girls in his new hometown. Frannie didn't really know how to respond to Quinn's worries; Sam had seemed completely into her at prom and afterward. She tried to reassure her sister that that surely wasn't the issue. To try to take her mind off her Sam worries, Frannie made Quinn go to the salon for a new hairstyle. She walked out with shoulder-length locks, loving how light it felt on her head. She decided not to take a picture of it for Sam; he'd just see for himself the next time they were together. She went to the drive-in movies that night with her sister and cut loose and smoked a cigarette, since they all were smoking. She choked it down but the second and third ones were easier. Frannie's older friends really liked Quinn, thinking she acted older than her 17 years. One of the girls hanging around took to Quinn and invited her to hang out with a group of them who called themselves the Skanks. Quinn figured she had nothing else going on that summer since Sam was nowhere to be found, so she drifted away from Frannie and her friends to spending a lot of time with the Skanks.

Within a 2-week period, she had been drunk twice on cheap wine and had a temporary tattoo of Ryan Seacrest placed on her low back. One of the other Skanks talked her into dyeing her hair pink and she loved it. She wouldn't go as far as actually piercing her nose so she used fake jewelry to pull off that effect. Some old dude at the gas station where the Skanks bought their smokes kept bugging her about going out to eat. When he'd start in, Quinn would twist the promise ring on her finger and tell him to get lost. Some nights she didn't get home until the sun was coming up. She'd drop into bed, not checking her computer or phone.

By the end of July, Sam was really beginning to worry about Quinn. Their communication had all but stopped. He tried to call and would send emails…his family finally had a computer and internet finally…but he'd get no response. Sitting at McDonald's one Thursday night after his shift in mid August, he asked his friend Kate what she thought he should do.

"I mean, I'm kinda freakin' out about this," he said, twisting the gold ring on his finger. "She hasn't contacted me at all…the last time we spoke was just via email…she said she was hanging out with her sister. Do you think she's seeing someone else?"

Kate looked at the blonde boy, the sweet hard-working funny guy she had kind of fallen for, and sighed. He was clearly head-over-heels for this girl.

"You should surprise her…yeah, drive to Lima and surprise her!" Kate suggested to him. "Before school starts next week! I'll cover your shifts this weekend."

"But it's your weekend off…"

"You owe me a couple then…you need to see her, Sam," Kate said to him, cringing at the thought of pushing him toward Quinn but knowing it was the right thing to do.

Sam jumped up from the table at which they were sitting and hugged her quickly. His hug took her breath away.

"You're the best, Kate! And I do owe you…just tell me when you want me to cover your shifts!" he practically shouted, running out of the restaurant to his car.

She watched him go, sighing a bit, wondering how late she'd be up crying herself to sleep that night.

He drove home quickly and asked his parents if he could go to Lima to surprise Quinn. They grumbled about it but finally okayed it since both parents were off work that weekend. As much as Sam pleaded to his parents that night, they wouldn't let him drive to Lima that late. They told him he could take off in the morning but not the middle of the night. Even though he felt like sulking, his heart felt light. He excitedly packed a few things; he'd figure out where to stay once he got there. He definitely wasn't letting Quinn know he was on his way…he wanted it to be a big surprise. He climbed into the pull-out bed next to Stevie, watching an old episode of iCarly with him.

"You must really like Quinn, huh?" Stevie asked him.

Sam smiled. "Yeah, I do...I miss her a lot."

Stevie pushed himself up on an elbow, facing Sam. "If I was gonna drive to meet a girl, it'd be Sam..." His brother looked at him strangely. "You know, Sam on iCarly!"

"Oh!" Sam replied, laughing. His mind was nowhere near being on the TV show. "Yeah, she's pretty cute."

"How do you know when you like a girl?" Stevie asked him.

Sam rested his hands behind his head on his pillow, crossed his legs at his ankles, stretching out, thinking of Quinn. "I think you know you like her when you can just talk to her, ya know, and you wanna hear what she has to say and of course you think she's pretty. And when she makes you smile…"

Stevie made a face, a little of disgust, but considered his older brother's words.

"How'd you know you liked Quinn?"

Sam thought of her, still smiling. "Her eyes got me, Stevie...it's like when I look into her eyes I'm mesmerized. We were kinda friends before we started going out too. She liked to listen to me and my dumb impressions...they make her laugh...and I liked to listen to her, especially when she sings. If she sings and looks at me, I'm done for."

"Ugh, weird..." Stevie summed up.

"Someday you won't think so," Sam said, glancing over at his little brother. "And someday you'll be able to take me in a tickle battle!"

They commenced wrestling around on the bed until their parents made them stop, by that time Stacie was part of the mix. Sam fell asleep thinking of seeing Quinn the next day.

_xxxxx_

At the same time Sam was making arrangements to visit Quinn the next day, she was sitting on a dilapidated couch under the bleachers at McKinley listening to the Skanks bitch about everything...their parents, their siblings, their other friends, their boyfriends, school, even each other. She took a drag off the Marlboro Light, bored. School had started that week and she just wasn't interested.

"Hey Q, when ya gonna give old man Smith another look?" A girl named Tanya asked her, handing her a warm can of beer. "He might get us our 'refreshments', ya know!" The other girls laughed, thinking of the old dude at the gas station who always flirted with Quinn.

"Yeah, maybe give 'em to us for _free_..." Lauren Zizes chipped in, high-fiving Tanya.

"Gross...you bitches go after him then," Quinn mumbled.

"What's a matter, Blondie?" Lauren said, plopping down on the couch next to Quinn and throwing her arm around her shoulders. "Missin' your Sammy?"

Quinn stiffened at her touch. "Hell no. Sam who?" Quinn took a long drink of the nasty warm beer, then belched.

The other girls chuckled. Lauren noticed the vacant look in Quinn's eye when the other girls started talking about something else.

"You know, you look different to me," Lauren said to her.

"Yeah Z? And how's that?"

"Well, you sure the hell don't look like me when I dumped Puckerman's ass...you _are _missing Sam, aren't you?"

Quinn groaned. "God no! And leave me alone about him...jesus! I could not care any less about what he's doing in Indiana right now!" At the exact moment she uttered those words, Sam's friend Kate was telling him to go to her.

"Fine, but you're only making yourself miserable. The Skanks aren't for you, Q...you're badass but not _that _badass."

Lauren hauled herself up off the couch while Quinn snorted to herself. _I'll show them badass_, she thought, cracking open another warm beer.

_xxxxx_

Sam was cruising down the highway, the windows down on his old beater, the radio turned up loud. He had no idea where he'd stay once he hit Lima; he hoped he could crash on Quinn's couch or maybe at one of the guys' houses. He pulled up to Quinn's house was 11 a.m. sharp; he had been driving for 4 hours. He damn near skipped to the front door. He didn't see her car but thought it was probably in the garage. Her sister's car was there, though, so someone had to be home. He rang the doorbell and waited.

Finally, after what seemed like forever and Sam sweating on the front porch, the door swung open slowly. Frannie stood there in a short robe, holding a mug of coffee in one hand.

"You're Quinn's friend, right?" she asked yawning.

"Uh, yeah, Sam...is she home?" he asked eagerly, smiling.

Frannie looked at him strangely. "She's at school...or is supposed to be...not sure, she didn't come home last night."

Sam felt like he had been punched in the gut. "School started? She didn't come home?" He felt like an idiot repeating what she had told him.

"I'm pretty sure she wasn't here last night, bed's not been slept in, and yeah school started this week..." Frannie said. "Maybe you'll find her there." She shut the door.

He stood there in the blazing sun in shock. The only thing running through his mind was her sister saying Quinn had not come home the night before. Where was she then? He jogged back to his car and headed toward McKinley High.

_xxxxx_

The heat and the sun woke her. She lifted her head gingerly from the smelly couch, drool matting her face. Her head was killing her, her breath smelled awful, she knew she smelled like cigarette smoke, pot, sweat, and that cheap beer she had drunk so much of the night before. She sat up slowly, realizing she had slept there...or passed out there...alone the night before. She held her aching head in her hands and wondered how she got to this point. She sucked in her breath so she wouldn't cry but the deep breath made her cough. She recalled Zizes talking to her about Sam the night before and the thought of him made her heart clench up. She couldn't even recall how long it had been that they hadn't talked. She leaned back on the couch and stared out at nothing, in a fog.

"I always thought pink was your color," he said quietly, leaning on a bleacher support.

She turned her head sharply at the sound of his voice.

"Sam?" she asked weakly.

_xxxxx_

When Sam left Quinn's house, he drove blindly to the high school and pulled into the lot, looking for Quinn's car, not seeing it. He glanced at the time and figured he could slip onto campus and find someone in the courtyard having lunch who could tell him where to find her, unless he found her there.

And…he didn't see her having lunch in the courtyard. He did see Artie, though, and slipped up to him, trying not to gain too many people's attention.

"Hey man…how you doin'?" Sam asked him, sitting down.

"Oh, Sam, dude! Didn't expect to see you today!" Artie said, smiling.

"I thought I'd visit before I start at my new school…any idea where Quinn might be?" Sam didn't waste any time asking about her.

"Oh, well, uh…" Artie really didn't want to be the one to tell Sam what he knew but he figured he'd find out soon enough anyway. "You might try under the bleachers…"

"Huh?" Sam asked, thoroughly confused.

"She, uh, started hanging out with the Skanks this summer and they're usually under the bleachers during the school day…" Artie couldn't even finish his statement; Sam was up and gone.

He drove around to the football field and finally saw her rose-colored Beetle. He parked and slowly approached the area under the bleachers. He was vaguely aware of this hangout spot from the time he went to McKinley; he never knew anyone personally who hung out there. And, now, Artie told him _Quinn _was hanging out with these girls? He just couldn't begin to figure out what was going on with her.

As he neared the hidden area, he saw a small figure sitting on a worn-out couch, staring off into the distance. Her hair was messy and short and pink, pulled back with a black bandana; she wore a black dress; crushed beer cans scattered at her feet. What concerned him most was her empty gaze.

He spoke to her and she looked at him sharply, not even realizing he had been walking toward her. She said his name, and he ran to her.

She stood up and fell into his arms.

"You're really here? Sam? Where have you been?" she asked, the words jumbled. He took her face in his hands and stared deeply into her eyes.

"I've always been here, Q, right here…" He placed his hand on her heart.

She began crying, and he held her tightly again. "I'm so sorry, Sam…"

"For what?" he asked quietly, afraid of her answer.

"For not trusting you…"

He looked at her again. "I know about Kate…" she said. "That's why you never called me…"

"Kate? How do you know about Kate?" As soon as he said the words, he knew it was the most wrong thing in the world to say, judging by the sharp look she gave him.

"It makes no difference," she said tersely, pulling away from him. "Why are you here?"

He reached out to her again. "For you, Quinn, to see you…I was dying to see you…to kiss you…" As he spoke, the words trembled from his lips.

She chuckled. "Do you really want to kiss _this_?" She gestured toward herself.

"Yes, yes I do…please Quinn…tell me what's goin' on…" he asked. This entire change in her personality worried him terribly and somehow she knew about Kate…his whole world was turned upside down.

"I made some new friends this summer, tried some new things," she said, turning her back to him, nudging a beer can with her foot. He walked up behind her and slowly slipped his arms around her waist.

"Can I talk to you Quinn? Please? Kate is a friend of mine I met working at McD's…she's the one who told me to come see you before school started because I've been freakin' out! She's a great girl, kinda reminds me of a junior Beiste though. Some guy we work with has the biggest crush on her, but she totally is not seeing it. I've been emailing you _and _calling you, Quinn…I could never catch you and then you stopped calling…"

"I _did _call you! Stevie asked me if I was Kate one night and, and, it hurt, Sam! What was I supposed to think?" A sob escaped her lips, and his grip on her tightened.

"I promised you, Quinn…" He held her hands in his and she ran her fingers over her class ring, still on his right pinky. "I hate this…I hate being apart from you…please…"

At his insistence, she finally turned around slowly and melted into him, letting him hold her while she cried into his shoulder.

"I take it you're not going to school today?" he asked, smirking a bit.

She shook her head against him.

"Then, can I take you home and put you in the shower?"

She smiled a little. "Gladly…I'm so happy you're here Samuel…"

"So am I…"

She tilted her head up to him and he kissed her softly, what he had been yearning all summer to do.

_xxxxx_

He drove them to her house, holding her hand the entire way there. Sitting beside him on the front seat, she seemed to be a shell of her former self, shoulders slumped forward, head hanging low.

At her house, her sister was gone, her mother at work. She let them in and they went to her bedroom. He had only seen her room a couple times before, mainly to do homework and occasionally make out. She had an attached bathroom, and he led her in there. He started her shower and found some towels and a washcloth. He held his breath, not knowing if he should stay or go, but his gut told him to stay, she needed him.

She kicked off her boots and socks and stood there barefooted, staring at her feet, her hands clasped together in front of her. He reached to her and untied the bandana, dropping it next to her on the floor. He touched her pink hair gently, his finger tracing a path down her cheek. She glanced up at him then, her hazel eyes watery, tired. In that instant, to him she was a lost little girl.

He gently pulled her black sundress up over her head, holding his breath as he did so. He had never really seen her nude in broad daylight before...this was definitely a first. She wore no bra and just a skimpy pair of panties. She crossed her arms in front of her, shivering a bit. He lowered her panties for her and held her briefly, hating to see her shake in the cold. He helped her into the hot shower, and she stood under the stream of water, letting it wash the dirt and sweat and shame from her.

Sam soaped up a washcloth and started with her face, working his way down to her shoulders, then breasts. He gently moved over them, licking his lips subconsciously as he saw her nipples harden. He moved down her belly and stopped where he expected the pubic hair to begin. She was now bare there. Trying not to seem shocked, he cleaned that area for her and got on his knees to clean her legs down to her toes. She turned her back to him and he was suddenly being stared at by a grinning Ryan Seacrest. Sensing his confusion, he heard her mumble, "It's fake."

He continued washing up the back of her legs to her perfect ass, the entire time thinking to himself how could she think she was not beautiful? He washed over Ryan, then stood up to finish her back. She stepped under the water again, and he then shampooed her, trying to massage away all the doubt and worry and stress she had going on. She rinsed her hair, and he held a big towel out for her to step into. She was shivering again in the cool air, so he wrapped the big towel all the way around her and hugged her close to him.

"I'm so tired, Sam," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"I know, Q..." he answered. In her bedroom, he pulled a pair of clean underwear from her dresser and a night shirt, helped her into them, and tucked her into her bed. She was asleep within seconds. He kissed her on the forehead and returned to the bathroom.

He put the lid down on the toilet, dropped his shorts and briefs, and finally attended to the raging boner he had been trying to hide from her. The cool air felt good on his cock. It was hot to his touch. He glanced down at himself, red and swollen, and began pumping his hand hard and fast. He let his legs fall open and his length stood rigidly on its own when he would took a break. He finally squirted some of her fancy lotion into his palm, making his hand slide effortlessly up and down his penis. He gripped himself a bit tighter as he felt himself nearing his climax, bringing his fist up fast every stroke, then pounding it down. He closed his eyes and huffed out his breath, thinking of naked Quinn and how awfully he had missed her. He couldn't believe how large he felt in his hand; any other time he beat off it had never been so sensitive. At the end, as he felt he was about to boil over, he quickened his pace.

The first wave hit him hard, and he groaned through it. His cum shot out; he didn't even care where it landed. He gripped the base of his penis, lightly rubbing his scrotum as he ejaculated. When it was spilling over his fingers, he slowly moved his hand up his shaft, causing his entire body to shudder. He bit his lip and grunted as quietly as possible, his legs trembling from his own touch. When he was finally flaccid and calmed down, he cleaned up with another washcloth and straightened up Quinn's bathroom.

He found her sleeping deeply and curled up next to her on her bed, suddenly exhausted himself. He wrapped his arms around her, and she fit against him perfectly. Before long, Sam was asleep alongside her, holding her to him closely.


	6. Chapter 6

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 6**

Sam startled himself awake, confused as to where he was in the dark room. A body stirred next to him, definitely not Stevie since Stevie didn't wash his hair with coconut beachy smelling shampoo. The body slowly turned toward him and the day's events came rushing back to him.

Quinn wrapped her arms around Sam, kissing him deeply.

"So, is that the first time we slept together?" she purred.

"Umm...you just looked so comfy..." he mumbled.

She smiled. "It's okay, Sam...I've missed you terribly."

He kissed her back. "I've missed you too."

They lay that way for a few more minutes, squashed together on her bed, rubbing noses and giggling. Sam started to feel the rise between his legs and was thankful when Quinn finally got up to go to the bathroom. He sat up on the edge of her bed while she was in the bathroom and let his eyes adjust to the low light. He wasn't sure how long they'd been asleep, quite some time obviously since it was dark outside.

Quinn returned from the bathroom and sat down next to him, picking up his hand. "Thank you, Sam, for making it better for me."

He slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in a little closer. "It scared me when I saw you sitting there, staring out into space like that, like you were totally lost."

She stared at their fingers laced together. "I think I was...what's going to happen when you go back to Indiana?"

He kissed her on the forehead. "I dunno," he whispered. In his heart, he knew that leaving her again would be damn near impossible.

"Are you hungry?" she asked him.

"Starving..."

She tossed on some clothes and they left in his car to find something to eat.

_xxxxx_

They wound up at the drive-in movies after running into Mercedes and Shane at the Dairy Queen. Mercedes smiled when she saw Quinn looked more like her normal self and that she was on Sam's arm. They said most of the Glee kids would be there at Rachel's insistence...something about a classic movie marathon. Sam and Quinn ate quickly, and he drove them to the drive-in. They drove around until they found their friends and parked the car.

Sam could tell they were happy to see him but even happier to see Quinn looking more like her normal self. They settled in the back of Finn's pickup truck on blankets spread out by Rachel and caught up with the others. Quinn sat between Sam's legs, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"What're we watching?" he whispered to her.

"Breakfast At Tiffany's," she whispered back. He could tell by the way Rachel and Kurt seemed entranced by it that it must be something important in their world. He was just happy to sit there with Quinn snuggled up against him.

"Fish face has returned!" They heard the cutting tone of Santana's voice behind them as she and Brittany approached the truck. "It's a good thing too...Barbie was going off the deep end."

Sam just shook his head and rolled his eyes, as if Quinn could do anything worse than what Santana openly admitted to doing.

"Maybe you can give Artie tips on moving," Brittany said plainly. Both Sam and Quinn turned to face her.

"What're you talking about, Britt?" Quinn asked.

"You prob'ly don't know since you've been a troll under the bleachers...Artie's moving with his parents," Brittany told them.

"His dad got assigned to France and his mother wants to go so Wheels will be rollin' on over to Paris," Santana said, laughing.

"That's not funny, San...he doesn't want to go," Brittany said quietly.

"How can he stay though?" Quinn asked, glancing over at him talking to Finn and Rachel.

"He said if his parents could find live-in help for him who they trusted he could stay. He has an uncle but he can't move in with him," Brittany told them.

Quinn looked at Sam. "What if his parents trusted _you_?"

_xxxxx_

Later on that night, Sam and Quinn cornered Artie to talk to him about his parents leaving situation.

"Yeah, my mom wants to go with him because it's France obviously...I just wanted to stay here and finish my senior year next year," Artie told them.

"So, Artie," Quinn purred, placing her hand on his shoulder. "What if Sam lived with you? He could learn what to do for you, like keeping you out of trouble..."

They all laughed.

"Well, if he could get some more hotties over, I'm all for it!"

Sam and Quinn looked at each other. "Dude, if your parents are cool with me living there with you, then no hotties...sorry, man," Sam said to him.

"We'll figure somethin' out. They always liked you. Can you come by tomorrow to talk to them?" Artie asked. "My uncle has already told them that if they find live-in help he'll stop by unexpectedly to check up on me."

"Sure, yeah, maybe about noon?"

Sam and Quinn spent the rest of the night watching movies, then went back to her house where Sam slept on the couch. Quinn curled up with him for a few minutes before retiring to her room.

"What do you think your parents will say? If Artie's parents okay it?" she asked him, brushing his bangs over on his forehead. He stared at her the entire time. How could his parents say no? He obviously needed to be in Lima with Quinn.

"I dunno. They'd probably want to meet Artie's parents themselves, ya know?"

Quinn sighed. The prospect of being apart from Sam was too great to consider at that moment to her. All that mattered to her right then was his warm body next to hers, his breathing slow and gentle matching her own.

"I know," she murmured, then promptly fell asleep next to him.

_xxxxx_

She woke him up for church in the morning. At some point in the middle of the night, the couch was just not big enough for the both of them and she had slept a couple hours in her bed. They had a light breakfast and went to church, both of them silently praying for Sam to be allowed to come back to Lima.

After church, they drove to Artie's home. Quinn reached for his hand before they left the car.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

He chuckled. "Yep."

"You'll be okay...I know it," she reassured him, though in her heart the idea of Artie's parents letting two teenagers live alone was pretty far-fetched.

Artie's parents were a lot like him, nerdy, funny, easy to talk to. His dad worked in intelligence in the military, hence being reassigned overseas. His mother was like the female version of Artie. They asked Sam a ton of questions; they had met him before in passing when he'd come by Artie's to play Call Of Duty marathons and watch Avatar and Star Wars. To Sam, it felt like a very detailed job interview. He was told he'd be there basically to prepare meals and help Artie in any way he needed. Artie's uncle, Mr. Abrams' retired military brother, would be checking in on them unexpectedly at any given time. And, Sam would need to be certified in CPR.

They asked Sam if he had any questions and all he could think of was, "Can you please talk to my parents?"

_xxxxx_

Quinn asked if she could follow Sam back to Indiana to spend what remaining minutes of the weekend they had together. He couldn't tell her no so they set out for Terre Haute. Quinn wanted to be there when Sam talked to his parents about the Artie living situation.

They got to Terre Haute at 6 p.m.; Quinn knew she had to be back on the road in an hour to make the drive back to Lima.

Sam's parents looked surprised to see Quinn tagging along with Sam when he entered their home.

"We wanted to talk to you about something," Sam started, sitting down with Quinn in the living room with his mom and dad.

Thirty minutes later, Sam and Quinn were sitting at the McDonald's where Sam worked, Quinn crying quietly into her hands. He sat next to her, his arm holding her close.

"Please don't cry, Quinn. They said they'd talk to the Abrams," Sam whispered to her.

Her head bobbed up and down; she sniffled. "I know, I know they did, Sam...I, I, if I know you're coming back it'd be so much easier," she mumbled into his chest.

"You are so strong, Q...the strongest person I know...even if I can't come back you know where I am, right?" he said. This was so out of his league, comforting this girl so clearly in love with him, trying to convince her that she didn't need him by her side daily. His parent's response had not surprised him; they said no for the time being but would be willing to talk to the Abrams. Sam left them with Artie's phone number and took Quinn to McD's after seeing her shocked expression.

"I'm so sorry, Sam," she squeaked out.

He kissed the top of her head, inhaling her coconut shampoo. _God, she always smells so good_, he thought to himself, wondering how he was going to deal with starting a new school and being without her again.

"Hey Sammy! You're back, I see. Is this...is this the mysterious Quinn?" a female voice asked. Sam and Quinn both looked up. It was then apparent to the other girl that Quinn was upset.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Sam...we'll leave you two-"

"No, Kate, it's okay. Yes, this is my girlfriend, Quinn...Quinn, this is Kate," Sam said to her. Quinn smiled and nodded at the girl, the girl holding hands with another boy.

"Hi there, Dylan...Quinn, this Dylan, he works here with me and Kate," Sam said, eyeballing both Kate and the other boy.

"Nice to meet you both," Quinn said quietly.

"So, you two..." Sam started, looking back and forth between Kate and Dylan.

"We just saw a movie, Sam," Dylan answered, smiling. "We'll leave you two alone...nice meeting you, Quinn."

Kate and Dylan wandered off.

"Well, that's interesting..." Sam said, mostly to himself.

"What is?"

"Kate and Dylan...he's had a crush on her _forever_! At least since I started working here...looks like he finally got her to say _yes_," Sam chuckled.

"That's sweet...they make a cute couple," Quinn said distantly. She sat up straighter. "I suppose I'd better get on the road."

They stared at each other for the briefest of moments, him into her hazel eyes and her into his blue eyes, each silently wondering when they'd see each other again.

"I'll walk you to your car," he said quietly.

_xxxxx_

Again, they stood next to her car, her in his arms, kissing slowly, gently. This time, though, they knew how hard it would be, not seeing each other.

"Quinn, I've promised you...I'll be there for you, I'll figure something out," Sam said quietly, knowing that what he said was most likely empty promises.

"I know, Sam, and I believe you. Thanks for coming to Lima to see me...you don't know how much that helped me," she said.

He thought about how he found her a couple days ago, broken and lost.

"I won't let that happen to you again, Q...I love you," he said, tears threatening to run down his cheek.

"I love you, too, Samuel. I'll call you when I get home...I promise..." she said, hugging him once more.

They kissed once more, then she pulled herself away from him.

"Can you stop by my house on your way out of town? I have something to show you," he asked her.

"Sure, Sam," she said, getting into her car. He got into his car, and they drove to his home.

He had her sit in the backyard while he grabbed something from the house. He came outside with his guitar.

"Q, this is to show you that no matter what happens, or where we live, we will always be together, and that I will always love you. Together or apart, our love is what will hold us together." He looked at her and started strumming the guitar.

_If tomorrow is Judgement Day  
>And I'm standing on the front line<br>And the Lord ask me what I did with my life  
>I will say I spent it with you…<em>

Quinn immediately recognized the song. She was a fan of Whitney Houston and loved most of her songs. Her heart swelled with love that Sam would sing to her like this.

_If I wake up in World War III  
>I see destruction and poverty<br>And I feel like I want to go home  
>It's okay if you're comin' with me…<em>

Sam saw Quinn smile, the one that made him fall in love with her the first time he laid eyes on her.

_'Cause your love is my love  
>And my love is your love<br>It would take an eternity to break us  
>And the chains of Amistad couldn't hold us<em>

Quinn wanted to join in with him but didn't because his voice was so calming to her. It was exactly what she needed to hear at that moment.

_If I lose my fame and fortune  
>And I'm homeless on the street<br>And I'm sleepin' in Grand Central Station  
>It's okay if you're sleepin' with me…<em>

_As the years they pass us by_  
><em>We stay young through each other's eyes<em>  
><em>And no matter how old we get<em>  
><em>It's okay..<em>

_It's okay as long as I got you babe…_

It amazed Sam that the words seemed to fit them almost perfectly. He had a feeling that this was what she needed to hear, and quite frankly he needed to hear it too.

_'Cause your love is my love  
>And my love is your love<br>It would take an eternity to break us  
>And the chains of Amistad couldn't hold us<em>

_'Cause your love is my love_  
><em>And my love is your love…<em>

Quinn understood what Sam was saying. They would always love each other and nothing could break them apart, not even them living in two different states. It made her feel better, knowing that no matter what happened, he would always be there for her.

"Thank you!" she whispered to Sam as she stood up and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head into the crook of his neck and inhaling his scent. It meant a lot to her that he was willing to drop everything for her, just to make sure she was happy. He really was the perfect guy.

After a few more kisses, they tearfully said goodbye once again. She got into her car; he made sure her seatbelt was fastened and waved when she pulled away from the curb.

He stood there watching the tail lights until they disappeared, then sat in the backyard for some time, strumming his guitar and thinking of her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 7**

Sam started his new school, and Quinn caught up with what she had missed. She rejoined New Directions and realized all they could talk about was how they were short the 12 needed to perform at sectionals. Quinn told Sam all of this. His parents had arranged a meeting with Artie's parents so he felt that was progress. He disliked his new school. He only knew a handful of people there, mostly kids who worked at McD's with him. There was no glee club and when he tried out for the football team he was met with four other quarterback prospects, all towering over him. The only saving grace was being able to talk to Quinn nightly on the computer. Stevie showed him how to Skype and it was the highlight of his night, even if he only saw Quinn for 5 minutes before collapsing into sleep.

Finally, two weeks into his new school year, Sam was happy to tell Quinn the news...his parents were coming to Lima to meet the Abrams. She squealed at her computer and clapped; he loved her smile that night and thought of it as he fell asleep.

It was a Saturday when Sam's parents drove to Lima to meet with the Abrams' family. They had to finally tell Sam to shut up about trying to talk them into letting him stay there because for the last 2 weeks that was all he had done. He gave the excuses of he did well at McKinley, the Glee Club needed him, _Quinn_ needed him, Artie needed him. They wouldn't listen to any of it. He asked if he should pack a bag in case he stayed in Lima and his parents looked at him blankly for several moments until his father finally bellowed _No!_ They told him if...and it was a big _IF_...they allowed him to do this he'd have to transfer schools so it wouldn't happen overnight.

Quinn waited anxiously at her house, sitting on her couch in her a nightshirt and hardly anything else, trying to read, watch TV, mess around on the computer. Nothing could take her mind off Sam, though. She knew the Evans would be in town soon to meet the Abrams. She couldn't even consider the alternative if Sam's parents said no. It was a good sign that they made the trip to Lima, she supposed, but still wasn't getting her hopes up, or trying not to. Sam had assured her he'd be over to see her as soon as he had an answer.

Sam had dressed up for this meeting, black slacks, a white dress shirt, and a black tie. He had combed his hair, then slicked it back some with some gel, was clean shaven, and even splashed on some aftershave that his grandmother had sent him on his last birthday. Stevie and Stacie laughed at him for getting so 'made up', they called it. He threatened to tickle them into submission if they didn't shut up. Sam's parents were pretty sure it was the longest 4-hour drive ever.

At the Abrams, they had dinner ready and things seemed to be going well. There was a lot of talk about what people did for a living, about which Sam could not care less. He just wanted them to get to the part where they told him he could come live at Artie's. After supper, they sent Sam, Artie, Stevie, and Stacie outside to play while they talked more.

"I think my parents liked your parents," Artie said and snorted. Sam did the same.

"I hope so. I told Quinn about this and I know she's waiting to find out the answer. I don't know what I'm gonna tell her if my parents still say no," Sam said, sighing a bit.

"It was going pretty good over supper, I think," Artie said. "Like when our moms started talking about their labors…"

Sam chuckled, then grimaced, remembering his mother talking about cervical dilation and pushing.

"Well, school's already started here…they gotta make a decision soon, ya know?" Artie asked him.

"Yeah…" Sam replied, sighing.

"Sammy! Come push me please!" Stacie yelled at him from the swingset.

"C'mon…" Artie said, rolling down the ramp. Once in the yard, his motorized wheelchair took him easily to the swingset, his parents having had special surfacing installed in certain areas of the backyard. Sam followed him and began pushing Stacie.

"Ya wanna swing Artie?" she asked, tilting her head funny, her pigtails blowing in the breeze.

"Nah, that's okay, Stace," Artie laughed.

"I'll push you too if you want me to…not like, gay, or anything," Sam said.

Artie laughed out loud.

"Really, man…how often do you get to swing?" Sam asked him.

"C'mon Artie!" Stacie yelled.

"Fine…you'll have to put me on the swing though, dude," Artie said, rolling his eyes.

Sam slowed Stacie down, then picked Artie up from his wheelchair and positioned him on the swing, waiting for Artie to grab hold of the chains.

"You good?" Sam asked.

"Yep…"

Sam got behind Artie and Stacie and began pushing both of them again.

From inside the Abrams' house, the four adults watched the kids in the backyard.

"You know, that is the first time Artie has ever played on that swingset," his father said.

"He'd always watch his cousins play on it but never seemed interested in it himself," his mother said. "I think Sam will be a good fit here, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. He'll be in good hands; you won't have to worry about him."

Sam's parents watched him and Stevie and Stacie and Artie playing and laughing and knew they had made the right decision, even though it would be hard not seeing him every day.

_xxxxx_

They explained the schedule to Sam and Artie when they came inside. Every other weekend, Sam would make the trip to Indiana to visit his family. They would communicate daily via computer. They went over Sam's duties to be done at the Abrams' house. He would no longer have to deliver pizzas; the Abrams' would be giving him an allowance plus room and board in return for him helping Artie when needed. Sam was asked to follow the same rules as Artie did, as far as curfew, etc. Artie's uncle would be making unannounced visits at any time so they were warned about no parties and no girls. They told Sam he could start moving in when he was able and his 'job' would begin as soon as he was there. Frankly, Sam was stunned.

Pulling his parents aside, after thanking them profusely, he asked what had swayed their decision.

His father sighed. "We want you to be with us, Sam, but we also know that you have opportunities here in Lima, believe it or not. After meeting the Abrams and talking very candidly with them, we feel you'll be safe and you'll be able to continue on with strides you've made at McKinley. You and Artie seem to get along well. We'll miss you terribly, though."

"I'll miss you all, too," Sam said to them, picking up Stacie and hugging her tightly. In his mind, not seeing his kid sister and brother every day, and even his parents, was freaking him out a little.

"You probably want to go tell Quinn, am I right?" his mother asked him, smiling.

"Yeah, she'll probably wanna know…" Sam said, setting Stacie down, trying to be nonchalant about seeing her.

"Then go tell her Sam!" his mom said, laughing.

"Okay, yeah," he said, his brain a mess. He took the keys from his dad, hugged his mom and was out the door.

Sam drove to Quinn's as fast as legally possible. He ran up to her door and rang the bell.

When she heard the doorbell ring, it sounded urgent to her even though it was the same old _ding-dong _it usually was. She jumped up from her place on the couch and practically ran to the door, taking a split second to check on who it was. She whipped open the door to Sam. The look on his face was far from happy, more like confused.

"Sam?" she asked.

He broke into a huge smile and grasped her in a giant hug, lifting her off her feet.

"They said _yes_, Quinn! I'm coming back!" he said into her neck.

She squealed in excitement and hugged him back tightly. "When? Did they say when?"

He set her down and followed her into her house. "I have to transfer back to McKinley so it might be like a week or so. I am so happy, Q!"

They fell back into a hug, then Quinn felt the couch behind her so she lowered herself down, bringing Sam along with her.

Kissing her neck, her cheek, her lips, he mumbled, "Is your mom home?"

Kissing him back, she replied, "No...we're alone."

He groaned a little against her skin, the thoughts of what they could do together alone colliding in his head. She must've been having the same thoughts because she was unknotting his tie, then unbuttoning his shirt. He kept kissing her, not making her stop and not questioning her.

She could feel his cock against her thigh. She opened her legs a bit, and he slipped easily between them, rocking against her. She got his shirt unbuttoned and off him, leaving him in his white wifebeater. Her hands drifted down to his hips, then his belt buckle. And that's when he stopped kissing her.

He leaned up over her, watching her intently, feeling her hands at his midsection fumbling with his belt buckle, then unbuttoning and unzipping his pants. Something possessed her then, and she slid her hands under the fabric of his slacks, around his hips to his ass and gripped him there. His cotton briefs were soft under her hands.

"Oh!" he said, feeling her hands pushing at his ass, pushing him into her. Her sudden movement scared him a little. He had never dealt with SexQuinn before.

Leaning up on her elbows to kiss him, she asked breathlessly, "Do you not want to?"

"Uh..." he stuttered. This whole situation fired up out of nowhere and he didn't want to say he didn't want to...he wanted to _badly_. "I-I have, uh, something..."

He had had _something _in his wallet for some time now...waiting on this very moment. It was in a silver package, given to him by Puck when he moved to Indiana. It was something called 'thintensity' and Puck had told him he'd thank him for it later. He reached for his wallet while Quinn watched him. He pulled out the tiny treasured package and set it on the back of the couch.

"You're so awesome, Sam," she said smiling. She peeled off her nightshirt and suddenly he was staring at her perfect boobs. Not even realizing it, he ran his hand up over his cock. His eyes drifted downward to her pair of blue cotton panties and then he saw his knees, his pants pooled there. Awkwardly, he slipped his pants off and leaned back down to her. They tongue-kissed for awhile while he practiced pushing against her, his heart pounding nearly out of his chest, and then he whispered _are you sure? _She nodded and moved to push his briefs off him.

His free hand drifted down to her panties and pushed down one side and he felt her supple hip. He had to see it. He leaned up again and looked at her pale skin in the low light, then pulled them down farther. He saw the dark patch of hair between her legs and sucked in his breath.

_Holy hell, she wants to be with me!_ he thought suddenly. _We're gonna do it!_

He pulled her panties all the way off, nervously and shaking. Again, he lay on top of her, now feeling all her heat at his middle.

"I love you so much, Quinn, I do," he said to her in between kisses. He felt that needed to be said. This was a huge moment for them.

He felt her working his briefs down, then felt his penis spring forth, suddenly free and in the cool air. Her hand went to him immediately, stroking him eagerly.

"I love you too…" she whispered to him.

He took the condom and tore it open, looking at it, hoping he could get it on the right way. _Roll it down, roll it down_, he thought, recalling what he had heard in health class. He wrapped his fist around his cock and the thing rolled down easily on him. It felt weird but that was the least of his worries at that moment.

"Um…" he mumbled. Protection was in place, clothes were gone, all that was left to do was _it_. "Okay…"

He lay on top of her, trying not to squash her, and let his hips drop down to her body. Her hands were rubbing everywhere on his body, their mouths were mashed together, yet he couldn't quite find the spot. He pushed…nothing. He pushed again…still nothing. The nervousness was going to make his erection disappear if he didn't figure it out.

He felt her draw her knees up, her hands on his hips, and he tried a third time. She lifted her hips up to meet him, and he felt the tip of his penis enter her. He grunted. She moaned slightly.

Hesitantly, he pushed a little and felt his head go into her. He stopped moving. The feeling was too intense then. He had stopped kissing her; his breathing was heavy. He could not believe the warmth she was giving off. He fit into her perfectly, it seemed. He realized she was whining quietly.

"Quinn?" he asked, unable to speak more.

"I'm okay…"

"Okay…it's-it's awesome…" he eked out.

He knew what he was supposed to do, but actually making himself do it was proving difficult. He pushed a bit more, slowly so as not to her this beautiful girl beneath him, _Lucy Quinn Fabray_, he was _making love_ to Lucy Quinn Fabray! And that was exactly how it felt to him…making love to her. It happened fast and unexpectedly, but he knew in his heart he was meant to be with her.

She moved again, and so did he, finally in all the way. It was amazing. It was hot. It was wet. It was tight, _oh god, so tight_. He could feel the way her muscles moved inside her. He backed out slowly, then pushed back in. When he did, she exhaled, moaning his name. It was the most gorgeous sound he had ever heard. He looked down into her eyes, trying to concentrate on not losing control but losing ground.

They had worked into a rhythm, slowly at first. He finally understood the depth of his feeling for her. Thoughts of love, how he good this felt, how he needed to get back to Artie's coursed through his mind. He rested his forehead on the couch arm, next to Quinn's head, his hips thrusting quickly now.

Quinn rocked with him, loving how this felt. She was somewhat unsure when he pulled the condom from his wallet, knowing there was no turning back. She was worried it would be an experience like her time with Puck, fast, painful, and devoid of feeling. However, once they got started, she soon realized sharing this with Sam was much, much different. It felt right to her, their bodies melding together as one. She pushed his wifebeater up and ran her hands up over his abs to his nipples, tweaking them a bit.

He felt her hands roaming upward, then pinching his nipples. He bit down on his lip, a sound like "mmm mmm mmm" coming from him with every thrust now. He knew that feeling, the feeling low in his belly, the feeling he couldn't stop for anything. Her fingers on his chest were pushing him closer, closer, closer…

"Uh...uh…" She watched his face contort when he climaxed; he held his breath a moment, then exhaled, grunting. He finally whispered _oh god_.

The only thing he knew to do was keep moving in and out of her, even after he had come what felt like a ton. He was still hard, she was moaning under him, and there was no way he was going to stop until he absolutely had to. He kissed her neck, then pushed up and kissed her on the mouth.

"Perfect…you are so perfect, Quinn," he said to her, their bodies still moving together slowly. "I-I can't believe we just…"

"_You_ were perfect, Samuel," she said quietly, smiling. She ran her hand down the side of his face. "We did just…" She laughed a little.

He smiled back at her.

"I think, I think I need to," he glanced down between them, amazed at the site. "Um…"

"It's okay," she told him.

He slid out of her slowly, and they both sat up on the couch. "I prob'ly need to get back to Artie's too…" He pulled the condom off himself as nonchalantly as possible and tied the end in a knot. "That was big…"

She looked at him and laughed. "Yeah, I guess it was!"

He realized that she thought he meant his cock and shook his head. "No! This! What just happened…_that _was big…for me."

"Me too, Sam," she said quietly.

Sam leaned over and picked up Quinn's panties and nightshirt and handed them to her. He then pulled his briefs and slacks up and put on his shirt and tie and fixed his belt as she slid the underwear up her legs and slipped her nightshirt over her head. They were quiet as they redressed, sitting motionless next to each other.

"I'm sorry, Q...I'm sorry it happened on your couch...I wanted it to be special..." he blurted out finally. Now that the rush of adrenaline was gone, he felt like he was crashing. "We weren't even in a bed! You and Puck were in a bed!"

She gasped and turned to face him, grabbing his arm. "This _was_ special, Sam Evans! It was for me! You mean so much to me and I-I wanted to share this with you...I don't care if it happened on a couch, in a bed, in a backseat, or on my front porch for that matter...it happened with _you_! And that's what made it special. As far as I'm concerned, this was _my _first time too."

She slid her hand down his arm to his hand. "It was our first time together, Sam." She kissed his cheek and felt him smile. He squeezed her hand in his.

"That's pretty cool, Quinn," he said to her, kissing her back.

The kissing led to touching and before he knew it they were laying together again on the couch. He smiled against her lips.

"I hate to but I prob'ly need to go..." he said, sitting up again.

She pouted a little. "I know, I know...the fact is you'll be back soon. I'm so happy about that I could just freakin' burst, Sam!"

She threw her arms around his neck, and he stood up, holding her, and carried her to the door.

"As soon as I know when I'll be back, I'll let you know, okay?" he said, setting her down. "It can't happen soon enough for me."

He kissed her quickly. "Love you, Q..."

"I love you too, Sam..."

He returned to the Abrams' house, thinking the entire time _I'm a man! _and occasionally glancing down at his crotch, finding it hard to believe what his penis had just did. He collected his family, enduring some stares from his father, and they said their goodbyes to the Abrams.

On the road back to Indiana, Sam stared out the window at the passing cornfields and out-of-business factories and little homes and big homes and town after town that all looked the same, but his mind was not on the scenery or his kid brother and sister fighting next to him or his parents yelling from the front seat...all he could think of was his time with Quinn. It was surreal that just an hour before he had made love to the most beautiful girl in the world. He suddenly wondered if it was obvious to his parents or the Abrams what had happened. He wondered how Quinn was feeling. She had reassured him that he was fine and it was good, perfect even, but still he had doubts about that. He felt like there was a giant blinking neon sign above his head, flashing "NOT A VIRGIN." He kept staring out the window wondering if people could notice his blush from outside the car.

Once in Indiana, he locked himself in the bathroom and thought of him and Quinn and jerked off to the memory. He realized then that in no way was his hand ever going to suffice that need again. It would do in a pinch but he had had a taste of sex and wanted more. He couldn't wait to move back to Ohio. What was she doing? Was she thinking of him too?

In Lima, Quinn was indeed thinking of Sam, much in the same way he was thinking of her. He left her house that evening, and she went back to the couch and sat there, staring blankly at the TV and thinking of what had just happened. She could still _smell_ him on her, still feel his weight, what it felt like to have him _in_ her. He had been beautiful through the whole thing, nervous, excited, happy, scared. Then, toward the end, he looked at her and it was all love...no nervousness, not scared...just him looking down at her, then his body trembling. She could still feel that tremble; she wasn't sure she'd ever forget it. He called her a few hours later when they arrived back in Indiana to wish her a quick goodnight.

Trying to find some privacy in his house from his parents and siblings, Sam pulled the phone cord from the kitchen into the utility room and snuck in there to talk to Quinn.

"So...how you doin'?" he asked her.

"I'm fine. How are you?" she replied, smiling.

"I'm not too bad...it's been one helluva day," he said, smiling at the phone.

"Because you get to move back to Lima?" she asked.

"Well, that too I guess," he said, blushing. "How do you..._feel_? Any different?"

"Mmm...maybe...do you?"

"Yes, totally..."

"I feel...very, very happy, Sam..." she said quietly. "I can't stop smiling."

"Me either!" he replied happily. "I still kinda can't believe it..."

She giggled a bit.

"It's like I think everyone who looks at me can tell..." he said to her.

"Can tell what?" Stevie yelled.

"Oh my god! Dad!" Sam hollered, realizing his little brother had been eavesdropping. To Quinn, "I can't believe that kid! He is so in trouble when I get off here!"

She laughed. "Go take care of business, then...I love you Sam and I'll be thinking of you tonight and every night 'til you're back here."

Sam calmed down a little. "I love you too, Quinn. I'll try to get transferred as quick as they'll let me. I'll never forget tonight."

"Me either...g'night Sam..."

"Goodnight Quinn..."

He hung up the phone and chased down Stevie who unfortunately learned what a wedgie was. Quinn hung up and went about getting her things ready for school the next day. She then snuggled into her bed and thought more about the events from earlier that evening. She fell asleep smiling.


	8. Chapter 8

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 8**

The days crept by slowly. The Glee Club was well aware that Sam was coming back; they needed him to compete at Sectionals. Quinn talked to Sam every day, even if it was only for five minutes, to find out how his transfer was going. His parents had to take a day off work to travel to Ohio to transfer him back to McKinley; they told him it would probably be a Monday when he returned to school there and they'd help move him to Artie's the weekend before.

Finally, two weeks later, Sam got the actual date that he could go back to McKinley. He had four days to finish up school work at the Terre Haute high school, finish work at McDonald's, pack his belongings, and of course tell his family goodbye. It hit him in those final days that he would be split up from his family...the same four people he was always used to coming home to, being bothered by, being loved on. He realized that he'd be back in Lima, around all his friends, but apart from his family. He hadn't realized it before but those four people were always there for him, no matter what.

Before he left, he spent what spare time he had with Stevie and Stacie, one on one. He took Stacie to the movies one day after school and then to McD's for ice cream. The next day, he took Stevie to a nearby pubic basketball court and worked on their game, then to McD's for ice cream. He spent time playing board games at home with them and wrote down the Abrams' address and phone number so they could contact him whenever.

His last day at McDonald's a little bittersweet, though he was secretly ecstatic to be getting away from all the grease. He was going to miss Kate, his go-to friend to talk to when he missed Quinn. She was now totally involved in Dylan, and Sam was happy for her. He hugged her his last night there and gave her his contact info in case she wanted to talk anytime.

"You know I'll miss your silly ass," she said to him, punching him lightly on the arm.

"I know you will miss my ass..." he laughed. He wasn't blind to her earlier infatuation with him.

She snorted. "You wish!" More seriously, she added, "Take good care of your Quinn...you two make a great couple."

Sam leaned in and pecked her on the cheek. "You know I will...thanks for being my friend."

He left the restaurant after turning in his nametag and other uniform clothing. She touched her cheek where he had kissed her, still feeling a little aflutter for the blonde-haired boy.

_xxxxx_

Sam's parents drove to Lima the Friday of Sam's last day at the high school in Terre Haute. They transferred him back to McKinley and paid his tuition and left all information on where they could be contacted. When Sam got home from school, they were just arriving back. They handed him his class schedule, locker information, a handbook, and other stuff. _This is real, it's really happening_, he thought, going through the stuff.

"Thanks for signing me up for the astronomy class, mom," he said, going over his schedule. "And you remembered Glee Club...awesome!"

"You're welcome, Sammy," she said, hugging him quickly. "We'll miss you."

He felt she might start crying. "I'll only be 4 hours away...and we'll talk every day, I promise."

"I know...it feels like you're leaving for college already and I just really am not prepared for that," she said to him, holding him at arm's length. He was now taller than her and looked like a younger version of his father. "But I need to be...I know you'll be fine and make good decisions."

"Don't have to worry about me, mom," he said, hoping to calm her down. "I'll be in good hands with Artie." They laughed.

"I have a feeling there will be way too much video game playing and not enough homework being done," she said, wiping away a stray tear.

"Quinn will make sure the homework gets done...I'm trying to get her to apply to a decent college but she wants to stay around Ohio for some reason," he said, shrugging.

"Oh, I'm sure I know the reason, Samuel," his mom said. "I'm sure she'll make the right decision, as well."

"I need to finish packing my junk...there's really not a lot," Sam said.

"Okay...we're leaving about 8 tomorrow," she said, sighing.

After he packed his remaining few clothes and video games and action figures, he emailed Quinn.

_I'll be in Lima around noon tmrw! Can't wait to see you! Love Sam_

_xxxxx_

Moving back to Lima went better than Sam expected. He expected loads of sobbing from his parents and siblings but instead there were just smiles and laughter with the Abrams. They helped Sam move into the guest bedroom next to Artie's bedroom and got his things arranged. They handed over a folder of Sam's important information and signed documents that might be needed at school or elsewhere. Artie's parents weren't leaving for Europe for another week or so, so they'd be in the house helping Sam get acclimated to his new duties. The Abrams took the Evans out to lunch at Breadstix before they returned to Indiana. It surprised Sam and Artie how well their parents all got along. After lunch, they returned to the Abrams and while Stevie and Stacie played outside, Sam and his parents said goodbye.

"This wasn't the easiest decision for us to make, Sam, I hope you understand that," his father said to him. "We do understand that you were doing better here, coming out of your shell, growing. We hope to see that continue. And, you have a very important job to do, don't forget that."

"I won't, dad. I really appreciate you and mom giving me this opportunity; I won't let you down," Sam told them. They hugged him once more and called his siblings in to say goodbye.

He picked up Stacie and hugged her tightly. "Be a good girl for mom and dad, okay?"

"I will Sammy...I'll talk to ya on the computer!" she replied, kissing his cheek.

He even hugged Stevie much to the younger brother's chagrin. "Keep an eye on your sister for me, 'kay?" Sam asked him quietly.

Stevie groaned and rolled his eyes. "I s'pose I can, Sammy."

They loaded back into their car and pulled away from the curb four hours after dropping him off. He waved as they drove down the street until he could no longer see them, then went inside to hang out with Artie for awhile before calling Quinn.

"So, what classes do you have?" Artie asked him when he came back inside.

"Um, let me get my schedule," Sam said, going to his new room to find the slip of paper with his class schedule on it.

His new room had a queen-sized bed, a desk, and a dresser. He hung up his few clothes in the closet. His room was connected to Artie's via bathroom. It made Sam think of the Brady Bunch except it was just him and Artie now. His desk was neatly arranged; his parents had presented him with a small laptop computer so he could communicate with them daily. His stuff for school was ready to go. His mom had made up his bed and filled the dresser with his clothes just like he was used to. It just seemed so..._quiet_.

"Okay..." Sam said, cutting through the bathroom into Artie's room. "I've got astronomy first, then algebra, then English, then lunch, study hall, econ, and Glee Club."

"I have English third hour, then lunch...who do you have?"

"Uh...Miss Padgett?" Sam told him. "Room 205."

"Sweet...me too," Artie said, high-fiving him. "You'll like Miss Padgett...she's new."

"Oh yeah?" Sam raised an eyebrow. "Like, new and..._young_?"

Artie smiled and nodded.

"You're a horndog, did ya know that?" Sam said, laughing.

"Of the highest degree!" Artie agreed. "So...you gonna miss the family?"

Sam shrugged. "Well, yeah, a little I s'pose..." He didn't want to give too much away. "My little brother was getting old enough where it was kinda fun to do stuff with him..."

"I've just been an only child all my life...not sure what it's like to have a brother," Artie said, turning on his TV. "Mortal Kombat?"

"Sure..."

_xxxxx_

She knew he was in town, knew he was getting set up at Artie's, but when she actually saw him, his lopsided smile and open arms, she squealed into her hands and jumped on him. He dropped by her house and offered to take her out for an ice cream. She happily climbed into his old car and slid across the seat to sit right next to him. She locked his arm in hers and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I've missed you so, so much, Sam Evans...welcome home," she said, kissing his jaw. At the first stoplight, he turned and kissed her back.

"I'm glad to be home," he said to her. "I've missed you too...I've thought of you, like, every day since...you know..."

"I've thought a lot about it too," she replied, blushing a little.

They got their ice cream, then Sam drove them to _their _park, to watch the ducks and catch up. They climbed up on their usual picnic table and licked their cones. He told her about his move to Artie's, how it had been a little more tough than he expected. He told her about his setup at Artie's and he'd have her over as soon as Artie's parents left. Then, he asked her a question she had been dreading.

"So, have you thought anymore about where you wanna go to college?" he asked.

She sighed next to him.

"I've been looking at schools here in Ohio, Sam," she said, looking away from him.

"And you haven't given any thought to the Ivy League schools? At all? Why would you waste your smarts, Quinn? And all you've done in high school? To stay in Ohio?"

"I don't wanna go away…"

"Why?"

"Because…"

They were both silent.

"I could never get into an Ivy League school, Sam," she said, nibbling at her ice cream cone.

"Are you kidding me, Quinn?" he said, truly baffled. "You're the smartest person I know. You blew your SATs out of the water, you were head cheerleader, you've been in Glee Club and gone to Nationals…what is stopping you?"

"You! _You _Sam, alright?" she practically shouted at him. "You…I wanna stay close to you…"

He was quiet and stared at her. "Don't let me stand in your way, Q. I want you to apply to those schools…please…for me. If you go, then we'll figure it out, right? That's kinda our thing…" He wrapped an arm around her.

"I've looked into schools here in Ohio…the University of Cincinnati, Miami U, Oberlin…" she said. "I'm not sure what Ivy League school I'd even apply to."

"We can talk to Miss Pillsbury, right? I just don't want you to sell yourself short, Q…you're too special," he said, kissing her temple.

"Okay, yes, I'll talk to Miss Pillsbury…thanks Sam…" She kissed him.

After talking at the park, he dropped Quinn off at her house, kissing her goodnight on the doorstep.

"I had a great night, Sam...I'm so glad you're back," she whispered, her arms wrapped around his neck.

His hands rested on her hips. "I'm happy to be back..."

He now lived only a couple blocks over. "You'll look into those schools, right?"

"Yes, I'll check them out," she laughed. "If I apply to any of _those _schools, then I'm also applying to schools here in Ohio."

"That's fair...I love ya..." He kissed her again and jogged off to his car.

She did check into Ivy League schools that night and though the admission requirements looked daunting she thought she might have a chance.

_xxxxx_

At Artie's, his family was watching an action flick in their family room and they told Sam to join them. He sat down and talked with Artie quietly through the movie about how this superhero could've done that better or how cool it was that they blew something up. After the movie, Sam asked Artie what he needed to do to help him get ready for bed.

"Eh...just help me outta this chair, I guess, help me with some pj's...is that weird?"

"No, dude, not at all...you just gotta tell me what to do, ya know..."

Sam followed Artie into his bedroom. "The bottom drawer of the dresser is the pajamas."

Sam pulled out a pair of pj pants and showed them to Artie. "Yeah, those'll do...I usually don't wear a shirt..."

"Okay...how do you get these on?"

From that point, it was like a comedy of errors, Sam thought. He helped Artie out of the chair to his bed, then stripped off his slacks and slid on the pajama bottoms. Of course, nothing went easily. Sam kept getting Artie's foot caught in the leg of the pants, then awkwardly lifted him up to get the pants up his hips.

"So...bathroom?" Sam asked him, sweating a little.

"Yeah...I just use a urinal in there..."

Sam looked at him confused. He was pretty sure he had not seen a urinal in there.

"It's like a handheld thing..." Artie said, sensing his confusion. "If you could give me a hand back into the chair..."

Sam got him back in the wheelchair and waited for him to take care of his bathroom business. He returned to his room and Sam put him back in his bed.

"You need anything else?" Sam asked him.

"Nah, I'm good..."

"Okay, just holler at me if ya need me then..." Sam said, trying to stifle a yawn. "I've got to pick up Quinn at like 8:30 for church tomorrow."

"Yeah, it's been a big day, dude...g'night," Artie said.

Sam turned off his lights. "G'night..."

Sam returned to his new room and stripped down to his boxers. He crawled into his new bed and turned off the light after setting his alarm. He then got back up and turned on his computer. He sent a brief email to his family.

_Thanks again for letting me come back to Ohio. It's so quiet here! It's gonna be wierd to not have Stevie kicking me all night long. lol I miss you all. Love Sam_

_xxxxx_

Sam picked up Quinn for school on Monday. She climbed in the back seat since Artie was the front seat.

"I told him to toss me in the back, Quinn," Artie said apologetically.

"It's okay, Artie...I'll sit anywhere close to Sam..." she said, leaning up to kiss Sam on the cheek. Not wanting to leave Artie out, she pecked him on the cheek too.

"Someone is in a very good mood this morning," Sam said, glancing over his shoulder and winking at her.

"That'd be me...I'm a very happy girl," she said, smiling. "It's a great day!"

At McKinley, Sam unloaded Artie's chair, then Artie, and Artie took off, telling Sam he'd see him in English. Sam's locker was across the hall from Quinn's and that made her even happier. He said hello to his friends as he walked down the hallways, taking Quinn to her first class. Along the way, he noticed posters hanging up for student body president.

"Brittany's running for president?" he asked Quinn.

"Mhmm, along with Rachel, Kurt, some puckhead, and that guy Brett?" she said. "I wasn't too into that stuff at the start of the year, so I didn't throw my hat in the ring."

"You woulda made an awesome prez, Q," he said, draping his arm over her shoulders.

He passed a sign-up sheet for synchronized swimming.

"Wonder what that's about?" he said, mostly to himself. "I can't letter in football this year...I might go check it out."

"You would look incredibly hot in swim trunks, doing your thing in the pool," she purred, then sighed. "This is my first class. Maybe I'll see you before Glee?"

"I'll be looking for you...have a great day..." he said, kissing her on the forehead. She went on into honors French and he headed off for astronomy.

Unfortunately, he didn't see her again until Glee. His day had gone smoothly for the most part. He got confused trying to find his English class and luckily ran into Artie. Then, he got called on in economics and had no idea what the answer was. He was doodling Quinn's name on his notebook..._Quinn, Quinn Fabray, Lucy Quinn..._

"Capital, Mr. Evans," the teacher asked suddenly. "What is capital?"

He looked up suddenly. "Uhhh...of the state of Ohio?"

He heard snickers, and he blushed deeply.

"No, Mr. Evans, not the capital of Ohio, which coincidentally is Columbus for those of you not paying attention. Capital is...Miss Cohen-Chang?"

"Um, already-produced durable goods?" she replied, looking over her shoulder to Sam and shrugging.

He felt like such an idiot.

At least in Glee Club, he got to see Quinn. They found seats together and listened to Mr. Schue start talking about sectionals after welcoming Sam back. They were still 2 people shy so two guys from the band were going to join Glee Club temporarily.

"The theme this year is 'legends'...anyone inspired by that?" Mr. Schue asked them.

"Barbra!" Rachel called out.

"Elvis!" Puck said.

"Whitney!" Mercedes added.

"Michael Jackson, yo..." Artie said quietly. The entire group agreed with him though.

"Michael it is then," Mr. Schue said, smiling.

_xxxxx_

Sectionals was a couple weeks later and Sam was really excited. He was happy to actually be helping the New Directions tonight, and he was even lucky enough to get a solo dance. In that two weeks, he had made the synchronized swim team and went with Quinn to talk to Miss Pillsbury about Ivy League schools. He had even helped her write her essay for her Yale application. Sam and Artie had been on their own for a week and were surviving, though cooking wasn't exactly Sam's forte. A lot of nights they had Chef Boyardee or bologna sandwiches. Artie's uncle stopped in a couple days after his parents left, a night Sam had attempted hamburgers. Thankfully, he got a few tips on how to grill them and Artie's uncle saved supper that night.

Quinn was excited too. Since re-joining the New Directions after Sam helped her, she was really putting in 100%. She had sent off her applications to the University of Cincinnati, Miami University, Oberlin, Yale, and Columbia University. She was most proud of her Yale essay that Sam helped her write. During Sectionals, she was lucky enough to have a small solo in one of the songs. She was a bit nervous about that.

Finally, the lights blinked and the group moved backstage. Sam found Quinn and walked over to her. He hugged her from behind, kissing her behind her ear.

"Good luck, babe," he whispered to her.

Quinn leaned back in Sam's arms, pushing her back into his chest. When she heard him whisper in her ear, she turned in his arms and kissed him on the lips.

"You too," she told him.

Sam leaned down and captured her lips again.

"All right you two lovebirds. Please break it up before I vomit," Santana said snidely.

Sam chuckled and pulled back from Quinn, still keeping his arms around her, knowing that that was sort of a compliment from Santana.

"_Now presenting… The New Dirrrrrrections!" _came the announcement over the speakers. The kids quickly took their places and waited for the music to start.

Quinn sang her lines perfectly.

_This is a story about control,  
>My control…<br>Control of what I say,  
>Control of what I do,<br>And this time I'm gonna do it my way._

She nearly forgot her steps when Sam did his crazy sex dance. Shaking her head, she quickly regained her composure.

The rest of the performance went perfectly and, at the end, Sam sought Quinn out and hugged her tightly.

"I loved your sex dance! You may need to recreate it sometime," Quinn whispered to him, a naughty smile on her face. Sam just laughed and kissed her chastely.

_xxxxx_

Once the New Directions were announced as the winners, everyone cheered backstage. Everyone was very happy, and Rachel was already trying to prepare them for Regionals. All in all, everyone had a great night and they hoped their Sectionals victory set the tone for the rest of the year.


	9. Chapter 9

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 9**

After the sectionals win, Sam and Quinn celebrated with the group for a short time at Breadstix, then wandered off to Target as Sam needed to make a purchase. They had had a few more makeout encounters but not nearly as close as their first and only time. Of course, Sam had used his one and only condom that night and had not yet bought any more. He had his first allowance from the Abrams and they both decided it was time he invested in some more.

They were still in their Glee Club costumes so they were aware they stood out at Target but didn't really care. Quinn clasped Sam's hand as they wandered up and down the aisles, trying to find the prophylactics. They passed the feminine products first; Sam grimaced and pulled Quinn with him. They turned a corner and were faced with half an aisle of choices. And they weren't the only ones looking.

"Oh! Miss Pillsbury! Hi!" Quinn said, shocked.

Miss Pillsbury blushed deeply. "Good evening, you two. Congratulations on your win today."

Quinn opened her mouth to thank her but was cut off.

"Hey Emma, look what I fou-Quinn...Sam...hello," Mr. Schue said, coming from the other end of the aisle.

By this time, Sam felt like his cheeks were on fire.

"Hey there, Mr. Schue...uh, Quinn, we're in the wrong section..." Sam pulled her away.

"Bye!" Quinn waved at the two embarrassed teachers.

They wound up in the electronics section, giggling.

"I can't believe we saw them there...in _that _aisle!" Quinn laughed.

"They saw _us_ too!" Sam laughed with her.

"Yeah, but we weren't studying the _things _quite like Miss Pillsbury was!"

They checked out the new cell phones and video games, then made their way back to the condom aisle, hoping to be able to shop in relative anonymity. The aisle was empty this time around. They stood in front of the display, much like Miss Pillsbury, and looked at all the options.

"Wow..." Sam said. He didn't know there were so many ways to be safe. And just the thought of him and Quinn standing there thinking about his wang made him blush fiercely.

"So many to choose from..." she mumbled. She suddenly grabbed a package. "Ribbed for her pleasure!"

"Shhh!" Sam shushed her as she began laughing out loud. "This is private! Why don't they put these things in a private area?"

She was laughing partly due to yelling out _ribbed for her pleasure _and partly due to his blush.

"We just need to pick some out and go..." he said, trying to focus on all the packages.

Obviously Trojans were very popular but there were also Lifestyles and Durex and other brands. There were colored condoms, condoms with lube, _ribbed for her pleasure_ (what does that even mean?), fire and ice (he was confused)...and then sizes, oh my god, sizes! _Magnum?_ No way. He finally saw the word _thintensity_, grabbed that package, grabbed Quinn, and headed toward the checkout.

_xxxxx_

They jumped in his car, laughing. The older lady at the checkout had looked at Sam and Quinn and raised her eyebrows when she scanned their only purchase. She took Sam's money, bagged up the condoms, then said, "Have a _wonderful _evening."

They found this very funny and did their own impressions of the lady in the car. Sam started the car to let it warm up and flipped on the radio.

"So, where to, Q?" he asked her, smiling.

"Umm...well, we just bought a whole bunch of these..." She held up the sack. "I suppose we could go do some homework or pray or..."

He tickled her suddenly, causing her to scream out and tickle him back.

"You totally read my mind, Quinn," he said, laughing. "How about back to the Abrams? Artie's hanging out at the Hudson-Hummels tonight..."

"So...I get to see your room finally?" she asked, squeezing up close to him. She had not yet been over to Artie's since Sam moved back because neither one of them wanted Sam to get in any kind of trouble.

"If you want to see it..."

"I'd like to see it..." she said quietly, more seriously, looking up at him from under her half-closed eyelids.

He took her hand and drove them to Artie's.

_xxxxx_

She liked his queen-sized bed. She showed him so by sprawling out on it. He turned on some soft music and lay down next to her, reaching for her hip and turning her toward him. It felt natural to him to lie next to her, kissing and touching and just sharing this time together. It was nice to be spread out on his bed, not scrunched in the back seat (or sometimes front seat) of his car, exploring one another.

She touched his biceps with her fingertips once he pulled off his shirt. She ran her fingers down his arm, through the soft forearm hair, to his fingertips on her hip. She then moved to his chest and explored his pecs, pushing him to his back and kissing each of his nipples.

"They look even to me," she said, giggling a little. His synchronized swim coach accused him of having uneven nipples. He chuckled nervously; all he could focus on was her hair tickling his chest as she kissed his nipples. His chest was still smooth and bare, the skin soft. She traced the lines of his muscles down to the waistband of his pants. His pants were low on his hips, and she could see a faint line of hair making its way up to his belly button. She touched him there, and he shuddered. She watched goosebumps appear on his belly. She stripped her dress top off. He sat up to kiss her. He unhooked her bra easily and let it slip down her arms, leaving her in her costume skirt.

He gently ran his hands up and down her arms before moving to touch her boobs. He leaned in to her and kissed her on the neck. He sucked her there just enough to not leave a hickey, then pulled her down on top of them, their naked chests together. He could feel her breathing, the rise and fall of her torso, against his, their nipples rubbing together, her squirminess on his groin. He took that opportunity to caress her back, finding it impossibly smooth. She sat up on him, looking down at him, and he brought his hands around to her front stopping on her ribs, his thumbs touching in the middle.

"I feel you..." she whispered and rocked on him gently so he'd know what she meant.

His dick felt huge between them. He realized he was staring at her boobs but couldn't stop himself. Her nipples were erect; her breasts small but natural and perfect. He cupped one in his hand; it fit like it belonged there. He rubbed her nipple.

"Do you-do you like that?" he said, his voice cracking.

She nodded, watching his hand work on her. She inhaled, and he glanced up at her.

"It feels good...makes me feel good," she said to him.

She let him touch for some time longer while she rubbed his arms up and down slowly and caressed his chest. Finally, she moved off him and he stood up from the bed in front of her. She eyed his pants, then started to undo them. She pushed them down his legs, then was face to face with his Batman boxers. She ran her hands up his thighs to his cock, then back down.

"Do that again..." he said to her. She did, and he bit his lip to keep from moaning.

When her hands slid down his legs again she took his underwear along with her, pushing it down past his knees. She moved her hands up his thighs again but instead of touching his throbbing dick she moved around to his hips, rubbing his ass, then came back around to the front and lightly gripped his cock. He stood before her, his back slightly arched, loving how he felt in her hand.

She stroked him for a bit, glancing up at him and then back to his cock. The hair at the base of his penis was shiny in the moonlight, and she ran her fingers through it, watching his cock twitch in front of her.

"I think we need one of these..." he mumbled, reaching for the box of condoms.

"I'll do it..." she said, nibbling her lip. He handed her one and stood ready for it. She tore open the package and held the rubbery thing in her hand.

"Want some help?" he asked her. She nodded.

He took her hands and placed the condom over himself and showed her how he rolled it down last time.

"Lean back," he said. She did so, bringing her knees up, instinctively knowing what he wanted to do. He pulled her skirt off, then gently tugged her panties down her legs, tossing them behind him. She scooted back on his bed as he leaned over her. He wanted to do this on his own this time...he had thought of little else since their first time. He lay against her, kissing her for a bit, fitting between her legs. He reached between them and took his cock in his hand. He rubbed himself up and down against her, her hips moving with him. He felt himself catch her entrance and slip into her, enough so that he could let go and resume kissing her. He pushed into her gently, hearing her whimper. He moved to kiss her neck as his hips pressed closer against hers.

"So tight..." he whispered, squirming around over her. Their angle on the bed was odd, but he didn't care...he had been ready for this for weeks.

The room was quiet...the CD had stopped playing. The bed was squeaking a little and both of them were making their own little noises.

She wrapped her hands around his neck, making him stop momentarily. "I've missed you, Sam..."

He stared down at her and moved to kiss her...but came. He moaned against her mouth, his body trembling on hers.

"Oh baby..." she said quietly to him, leaving tiny kisses on his cheeks and lips while he shuddered through his orgasm.

"I'm sorry, Quinn...god..." He moved in and out of her several more times until his length softened, he slipped out of her, and rolled to the side. He covered his face with his arm, embarrassed.

"It's okay, Sam...really..." she said, rolling to face him, pushing up on an elbow. She moved his arm and kissed the tip of his nose.

"I can't believe that happened though..." he mumbled.

"I say we just practice lots and lots..." she said, giggling. He glanced at her with one eye open, the other one closed, and gave her a lopsided smile.

"I can do that," he replied.

He removed the condom and tossed it in his trash and lay back down next to her.

"I say we practice some more tonight..." she purred, rolling on top of him. He smiled again.

"I can do that..."

_xxxxx_

School slipped by slowly with semester finals coming up and Christmas. All Sam heard from Artie was the public access TV production he was directing. Sam had already bowed out of that ordeal since it coincided with feeding the hungry at the homeless shelter. Quinn had said that she would help Sam, even though Sam knew a part of her wanted to be in the production. Sam just thought that this showed exactly how kind Quinn was and how much she had changed. Sam found it hard to believe that this was the same Quinn that could put the fear of God in anyone, but he also knew that people could change and luckily for Quinn she had changed for the better.

Sam was sitting in the Abrams' living room playing the PS3, enjoying killing random people and basically not thinking of anything, when Artie rolled into the room mumbling something to Sam.

Sam paused the game and asked Artie what he said.

"I said, do you think the production should be in color or black and white? Black and white seems awesome, but maybe too old fashioned. But then Christmas isn't a new thing so that might work. Color might not work as well, but then again everything is in color these days, and everything seems to work fine. But because we should do something different-"

Sam just decided to zone out. _'_For the past week or so, this was all he had heard. Production this, lighting that, costumes, songs, scripts...and he was at his wit's end. It was all the Glee Club talked about at school too._ Doesn't he have a life? _Sam asked himself.

"-Maybe it should be in black and white _and _color. Hey man, are you sure you don't want to be in it? I can still put you and Quinn in now. It's not too late yet," Artie continued to ramble on, unaware that his audience was no longer paying attention.

Sam had finally had enough.

"Look Arts, I think it's amazing that you have this opportunity, but I don't appreciate having to listen to nothing else but this production thing 24/7. I already told you that I'm not going to be a part of it because I want to give something back to the homeless shelter after everything I've been through. And Quinn wants to help at the shelter too. So please, at least for now, just shut the hell up and play some video games with me!" Sam snapped.

Artie looked shocked. Clearly, he had no idea exactly how much he had been rambling on. "Sorry man. I guess I just got carried away with everything. I've just never had this opportunity before, and it's-I don't know-_amazing_. And I know that you are set on helping those people, and that's great man. You're right. I'm just going to stop thinking about this for now and relax. Let's kill some Nazis!"

Sam just laughed and handed a controller to Artie. He picked up his own and hit play. "Good to have you back, man…sorry I kinda went off on ya."

"No prob, dude. Thanks for being honest with me…I didn't realize how insane I sounded," Artie said, blowing up a building on the screen.

"You'll do a great job on that show…all that stuff's right up your alley…is anyone recording it? Quinn and I would like to see it," Sam said.

"I think they are…I just wish it hadn't fell on the same night as helping at the shelter," Artie told him.

"Some things just happen…the shelter will always be there," Sam said, zoning back out to the game.

_xxxxx_

"I know you really wanted to be in that show," Sam said to her when they pulled up at the homeless shelter. It was snowing and cold and people were already lined up under the awning. He remembered times his family had to go there as they had had no other option.

"It's just public access TV, Sam!" she laughed. "Besides, I'd much rather be with you."

"I hoped they could've maybe taped us instead of it being a live performance but I guess that's public access for ya," he said, going around to her side of his car and helping her out. "I really do appreciate you coming to help tonight."

She smiled at him in the snow and took his hand. They walked down the sidewalk, being passed by shoppers and others in a hurry to get somewhere, passed some bell-ringers. Sam dug in his pocket for a couple bills and deposited them in the bucket. He huddled together with Quinn and they continued on.

Inside the shelter, they found Coach Sylvester who handed them each an apron and plastic gloves and pointed them in the direction of the masked potatoes and green beans.

"Blondie, be careful with the portions!" she barked to Quinn. Quinn nodded and turned to go to her station.

"Other Blondie, make sure no one leaves here hungry," Coach said to Sam more quietly. He smiled and winked at her.

She almost smiled at him as she shooed them on their way.

Standing there doling out potatoes and green beans, sometimes seconds and thirds for people, Sam asked Quinn about her college applications.

"Have you heard anything from anyone yet?"

"Not a peep," she replied, smiling at a disheveled man.

"You'll probably hear something soon...then you'll need to start making some plans, right?" he asked, looking over at her.

She shrugged a little. "I guess I will."

"You deserve good things, Quinn..."

"Thanks...I'm trying..."

He nudged her a little; she nudged him back. They continued doling out food for what seemed like an endless line of hungry men, women, and kids. A couple hours later, they were shocked to see the rest of New Directions coming through the doors, complete with props from their TV production. Artie rolled up to Sam.

"Hey, man, I'm sorry I was such a douche the past couple weeks...this thing kinda took over my life," Artie said, reaching out to shake Sam's hand.

"No problem, dude. Looks like you know what you wanna do with your life, though," Sam laughed.

"Yeah, I did get a little _passionate _about it, I guess," Artie replied, snorting and joining the others as Mr. Schue had started playing Christmas songs at the piano.

Coach Sylvester came up behind Sam and Quinn and told them to join their group to sing. Sam looked at Quinn as they sang _We Wish You A Merry Christmas_, then slipped his hand in hers.

Later, Sam pulled his car up to the shelter and loaded Artie in the front seat and Quinn hopped in the back seat. Sugar asked Artie if she could come hang out, and he okayed it. Sam knew he was crushing on the girl so he told her to get in his car and they drove off for the Abrams' home. Once at Artie's, Sam lit a fire in the fireplace so they could all hang out in the family room. Quinn snuggled up to Sam on a couch, and Sugar took a place on Artie's lap. They flipped on the TV and found the PBS station was airing the Christmas special again so they watched that.

"Wait right here," Sam said, getting up and leaving the room. Quinn tried not to stare at Artie and Sugar making out across the room from her but it was sort of difficult, considering the sounds they were making.

Thankfully, Sam returned quickly and sat down with her again. "For you..." He handed her a tiny wrapped Christmas gift.

"What...?" she asked, surprised. Earlier, they had decided on no gifts for each other and they donated money to the shelter. Now, she was sitting next to him, holding a small package wrapped expertly.

"Yeah, I didn't do that...the ladies at the shop did it," he said, smiling. "Open it!"

"We said no-"

"I _know _what we said, but I wanted you to have at least a little something from me," he told her.

She smiled back at him and then tugged at the green ribbon and slowly opened the shiny red paper. It was obvious it was a small box holding jewelry once she unwrapped it.

"Sam..." she said, before even opening the small box.

"Quinn..." he replied. He took the box from her and popped it open.

The Christmas tree lights made the necklace in the box sparkle. It was very dainty as she lifted it slowly out of the box. It was gold with a tiny simple heart hanging from it. The heart was made up of tiny diamond chips.

"I thought you could add your cross to it...or something..." he mumbled, waiting on her response.

"I love it, Sam...it's beautiful..." she said, leaning forward to kiss him. She took off her cross necklace and added her gold cross to the new necklace and then had Sam fasten the new necklace around her neck. She turned to face him.

"It's pretty, Quinn, like you..." He hadn't had much money when he went to the jewelry store and really only had a couple choices within his price range. He was happy when he saw this necklace though because his first thought was she'd like it because it was simple and his second thought was he could afford it. She was the only girl he'd ever bought jewelry for.

"Thank you so much, Sam Evans...I love you..." she whispered.

"I love you too...Merry Christmas..." he replied, pulling her into a gentle kiss.


	10. Chapter 10

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 10**

After Christmas, the second semester began at McKinley, Quinn's last semester of high school. The winter months in Ohio were gray and cold and basically dismal with nothing to look forward to until Regionals. Thankfully, Sugar planned a Valentine's Day dance at Breadstix with her rich father reserving the entire restaurant for the night so there was that to look forward to.

Sam and Artie were getting along fine again and had figured out a routine that worked for them. Artie's uncle usually stopped by once a week, sometimes twice, and never had any complaints to give Artie's parents. Artie and Sugar were still going strong, so on weekends Sugar and Quinn usually found themselves there, helping the boys get the house cleaned and laundry caught up. Sam and Artie took turns going to the grocery, and Sam's cooking skills were coming along. Some weekends, they'd make their own pizzas at home and relax and watch movies in the family room until Sam had to run the girls back home. Quinn was actually becoming good friends with Sugar and finally got to the point where she overlooked the girl's odd behavior and just got to know her. They got to know each other well while their boyfriends were involved in the video game world.

Some of the best nights that winter, though, were when Quinn spent the night with Sam. It was usually when her mother was going to be out of town and Artie's uncle had dropped by because then they knew his uncle wouldn't be stopping by again for probably another week. Some nights they'd Skype with his family to catch up on what was going on in Indiana. Since it was winter and the roads were sometimes bad, Sam was allowed to stay in Ohio and he just checked in with his folks in Indiana via computer daily. When it was time to try to get some sleep, Quinn would slip into one of Sam's t-shirts and they'd curl up in his bed, generating their own heat, and whisper to one another about anything and everything. Sometimes, there was no talking, just lovemaking, then sleep.

One night, after a particularly involved session, Sam spooned Quinn, wrapping his arm around her, nearly ready to drift off to sleep.

"Sam...I don't think I could be away from you..." she whispered. He snorted himself awake.

"Whaaaa...?" he asked, sleepily.

"You know, in college, what if I get into Yale or Cornell? How will I ever leave you?"

He hugged her tighter while thinking of his words. "You won't be leaving me...you'll be bettering yourself...I'll always be here...I'm not goin' anywhere..."

She turned around to face him. She ran her hand along his cheek.

"Remember what happened to me when we were apart over the summer?" she asked, smiling a bit.

"I haven't forgotten...you'll be fine, wherever you go. And, if Artie's parents are still in Europe next year, you'll know where to find me," he said, smiling back at her, then leaning into her to kiss her. "I'm not going anywhere, Quinn. We'll figure it out, right?"

She kissed him back.

"What brought this on all of a sudden?" he asked, pushing up on an elbow. "Did you hear from one of the schools?"

"No, not yet...I was just thinking, you know, about the future..." she said, flipping back over to spoon against him. He took his place again, wrapping an arm around her.

"You should hear something soon, right?" he asked her.

"Yeah, probably..."

The next week, she got her acceptance letters from Miami University, Oberlin, and the University of Cincinnati. The two Ivy League schools she had applied to still had not responded to her other than letting her know they received her application paperwork. Sam was at Quinn's, working on homework, and she showed him the letters. He had a huge grin on his face, scanning over the letters quickly.

"I knew you could do it...you are seriously one of the smartest people I know..." he stood up and hugged her. "Now, you just need your letters from the other two to make your decision."

"Thanks, Sam," she said, sucking in her breath. "We'll see about Yale and Cornell. I'm not too sure-"

"Stop right there...you are smart enough to get into those schools...stop with the not being sure..." he said, gripping her upper arms. "I'll miss you like crazy, though."

Quinn sighed. "I know it'll be hard but..."

"But what?"

"I kinda wish I'd be closer to you so it's easier to visit," she mumbled, nibbling on a fingernail, looking at the letter from the University of Cincinnati.

"Quinn..." he started.

"I know, I know...I mean, this school's education department is top-rated in the _country_, Sam!" she said, holding up the letter.

"Let's just wait and see what the other two have to say, okay?"

She sighed again. "Okay, yes, that's a good idea. Now, we need to go over your English."

Sam rolled his eyes but cracked open his book.

_xxxxx_

She received her letter from Cornell a couple days later. She had applied there and to Yale. The main reason behind applying to Cornell was it was closest to Ohio. She didn't tell Sam that, though. She tucked the letter in her desk drawer and figured she'd wait until she got a response from Yale before making Sam open them and read them to her.

At least while at school, she didn't have to think about colleges as all the talk was about Finn and Rachel. They announced to the Glee Club that they were planning on getting married soon but had not yet set a date. They wanted to invite all the Glee Club kids.

It was more than a little shocking to their friends. Quinn actually asked if maybe they thought they were too young to make that kind of commitment. Kurt was outwardly opposed this, as well. Others asked about their parents...what did they think of this and had they given their permission. Some asked Rachel about her plans of performing on Broadway in New York City and she said Finn would be going with her...duh, they'd be married! Tina wholeheartedly agreed with the idea of them getting married and asked to be a bridesmaid. To Quinn and Kurt, Rachel uninvited them to the wedding, saying she would've loved to have seen Quinn in a bridesmaid's dress. Sam wrapped his arm around Quinn's shoulders; he could sense the sting of Rachel's words to Quinn by the way she sucked in her breath and bit her lip.

Later that afternoon, Quinn had gone to Artie's to help Sam with algebra and the conversation turned to Finn and Rachel and their big plans.

"I just think Rachel is really screwing up her opportunities...I even told her so," Quinn said as the three of them sat at the kitchen table. "She really has a talent and dragging Finn to New York with her is like tying an anchor around her waist."

"Well, we may think so and everyone but them may think so, but it's their decision...they're 18," Artie replied.

"Surely Finn can find something to do in New York or go to school there?" Sam asked. "What if it was me and you, Q? What if I wanted to get married, like, right now?"

She looked at him, her eyes wide. "That's so different, Samuel."

"How so?" he asked her, smiling.

"We're not set to go to New York City to take Broadway by storm," she replied, snorting.

"You might go to Yale or Cornell. What if I proposed to you _right this second_...what would _you_ do?" he asked, still smirking.

Quinn looked from Sam to Artie and back to Sam. "I'd...I'd go to school and we'd have a long engagement, that's what I'd do!" Sam and Artie chuckled.

"She's so in love with Finn, though, who're we to say they won't make it work?" Artie said.

"Truth, man," Sam said, high-fiving him across the table.

"I still think she's making a big mistake..." Quinn said. "But, like you two said, it's not for me to judge their decisions...I'll tell her I'll be a bridesmaid, I guess."

"She'll be happy that you changed your mind; she really wanted you there," Artie said to her. "Now, what about that proposal, Sam?"

Sam laughed nervously, glancing at Quinn. "We'll know when the time is right."

Quinn smiled back at him.

xxxxx

Valentine's Day was quickly approaching. Sam and Quinn planned on going to Sugar's party at Breadstix, then heading back to Artie's. Quinn talked to Rachel about her upcoming wedding and told her she'd be a bridesmaid to support her but still had conflicting emotions about them getting married. She told Rachel she wanted her to be happy and pursue the fame that she deserved, and, if Finn was meant to be by her side through all that, then so be it. Rachel squealed and hugged Quinn and began telling her all the details about her bridesmaid's dress.

Most days in Glee Club were spent rehearsing their songs for Regionals, which was happening a month after Valentine's Day. They were doing a couple mash-ups and Rachel would have a solo.

On the day of the Valentine's Day dance, Quinn received the letter she had been awaiting from Yale. She placed it with the letter from Cornell in her desk drawer and chose not to think about them until after the evening's festivities. Before she left her house, though, she tucked them in her purse to take to Artie's later on. She had planned on making Sam open them and read their decisions...she just couldn't do it.

_xxxxx_

Breadstix had been transformed into the Love Shack for Sugar's party. Sam and Artie arrived together, and Quinn met them there. She was wearing a tiny pink dress with a blue jean jacket over it. She had talked Sam and Artie into wearing red button-down shirts with Valentine's ties.

"You look so handsome," she said, falling into a hug with Sam.

"Will you be mine?" he asked.

"I will, as long as you'll be mine," she replied, pecking his cheek.

They danced to and sang Love Shack, then sang Cherish together with Mercedes and Joe, and slow danced a lot. The party was fun, and the fact that Sam was there enjoying it with her did not escape Quinn. For awhile, she even forgot about the two Ivy League responses sitting unopened in her purse. She just enjoyed her time with Sam and their friends and good music and good food.

After a few hours of partying, though, it was time to head out. Sam drove himself, Artie, and Sugar back to Artie's and Quinn followed in her car. Inside, it was agreed that they were all exhausted and once Sam helped Artie with his bedtime routine he retreated to his bedroom. He found Quinn sitting on the edge of his bed, nervously fiddling with two letters in her hands.

"Artie's taken care of and it looked like him and Sugar were already celebrating Valentine's when I left his room...what'ch'ya got there?" Sam asked her, sitting down next to her, loosening his tie. She handed him the letters.

"I can't open them. You open them and tell me what they say," she said, placing the letters on his lap. He glanced at them, then picked them up, reading the return addresses.

"Oh my gosh, Quinn! How long have you had these?" he asked her.

"Just a few days...I'm too freaked out to open them though..."

"Which one first?" he asked her with excitement.

Cornell was the one she was hoping said yes out of the two so she said Yale.

He stood up and set the Cornell letter on his desk. He made a grand display of opening the letter from Yale, snapping the paper out, clearing his throat, and prepared to read it.

"Dear Mizzzz Fabray..." he said, laughing. He cleared his throat again and continued.

"Your application to the 2012 entering class has now been carefully reviewed by the Admissions Committee. It is with great regret that I must inform you that we are unable to take any further action on your application." He stopped smiling and his face scrunched up to read the rest. "What is this...?"

Quinn held her breath. "Just go on, please."

He shook his head a bit, as if he couldn't believe it. "Because of the exceptionally competitive applicant pool this year, the selection process has been unusually difficult, and the Committee has had to choose only a few students from a large number of academically qualified applicants. We greatly appreciate your interest in seeking admission to Yale University."

His room was quiet for maybe three seconds. "That is complete bullshit! You deserve to get in!"

"We knew it was a long shot, Sam...it's okay, really...let's just, let's just open Cornell's letter," she said quietly, knowing that it probably contained the same type of response.

He was mumbling as he opened the Cornell letter. "That is just crazy...you're good enough for that school!"

Before unfolding the second letter, he took a deep breath and sat down next to Quinn.

"Okay...Miss Fabray, despite your fine record and accomplishments, the Committee on Admissions has not found it possible to offer you a place in the class..." He paused then, not able to process what he was reading. He had known in his heart she'd be accepted to one, if not both, of these schools and had been preparing himself for the day she'd have to leave. "This year, we have received more applications from qualified applicants than we can accommodate in our class. This has made the deliberations of the Committee on Admissions particularly difficult. We only wish we had more opportunities available for fine students such as you."

They were both quiet as he refolded the letter and put it back in the envelope. She suddenly patted his knee.

"You know, it's not the end of the world...I still got accepted-"

"You deserve to go to a fine school like those, Quinn. Why can't you see that in yourself?" he interrupted.

"It's disappointing, but I think I'll focus on Cincinnati now," she said, smiling at him.

"I just want you to have the best...your smarts will be wasted in Cincy," he said, frowning.

"You're so cute when you pout," she purred, running her hand up his arm to his cheek.

He glanced at her. "I can't help it...this upsets me..."

She chuckled. "I think you're more upset about it than I am."

"You should be upset!"

"Like I said, it's not the end of the world for me, Sam. Now I can go to Cincy and be close to you your senior year," she said, leaning in and lightly placing her lips on his earlobe.

"You know what that does to me," he groaned, turning his body a bit to face her, his hand sliding up her thigh.

"I know...and right now I just want to forget those stupid letters, Sam..." she whispered, leaning into him to kiss his other ear. The more she sucked on his earlobe the closer his hand got to her panties. They had learned his earlobes were _extremely _sensitive one night in his car when she licked and kissed him there and he came in his jeans.

As he pushed against her, laying her back on his bed, he worked her panties off and she undid his jeans. He pushed his pants down as he leaned up over her, now kissing her urgently. He lowered himself down to her and entered her…somewhere in the back of his mind he realized the feeling was more intense than usual. She held on tightly to his arms, whispering his name, kissing him, rocking her body with his.

He began moving quickly, the feeling sensational to him. He lay on her closely, kissing her neck, her fingernails tracing lines down his back. Upon feeling his climax nearing, he leaned up to look down at her as she grabbed his hips. When he came, he pushed deep into her, grunting. She held him in place as he trembled over her, then he lay back down close to her, moving slowly in and out of her.

"I want it to happen for you, Quinn," he mumbled into her neck.

"It will, Sam…it's okay…it always feels wonderful," she replied, stroking his hair.

"It felt so good tonight…" he said to her, moving to lie next to her. He began rubbing circles on her belly. "You're perfect, did you know that?"

She looked over to him. "I'm not perfect, Sam…"

"For me, you're perfect," he replied, kissing her. "I want to show you how perfect…"

He pulled her on top of him. He positioned her over his semi-stiff cock, hands on her hips, and began moving her slowly back and forth.

"Sam…" she whispered.

"Shh…I'll be ready to go again in no time," he said, smiling up at her.

She leaned forward to kiss him, feeling him harden beneath her. Slowly, as they kept kissing, he slipped back inside her easily. She sat up and moved on him to however it felt good, tilting her hips forward and rubbing her clit against him. He lightly touched her belly up to her breasts, massaging them, watching her expression, seeing her heart necklace glimmer against her skin.

As she rode him, she could feel him moving his hips up to her slowly, deeply. She had never felt such control during their lovemaking. She was able to control how her body moved against his, the pace, whether she sat up fully or lay directly on him. She finally realized that moving her hips in a slight circle as he pushed in and out of her was causing an unbelievable feeling in her lady parts. It was somewhat like the feeling Sam would make happen with his fingers but somewhat different, more intense. Her breathing picked up, sounds escaping her throat she didn't know she could make, her eyes closed to the pleasure. Sam watched her as she neared her orgasm, himself about to fall over the edge as well.

The feeling built in her lower belly, a warmth wanting to explode, and she quickened her pace, moaning with his thrusts. She suddenly wanted to come on him, wanted him in her as she orgasmed. The feeling washed over her finally, and she leaned into him, whispering his name as quietly as she could, clenching her muscles around him, gripping his shoulders. Knowing he made her climax set off his own orgasm. He grunted as he felt himself spill into her, holding onto her hips again to keep her close to him.

They stayed that way for some time, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, until her knees weakened and she rolled off him, panting and pushing her hair from her sweaty brow.

"That was _amazing_, Sam," she finally said to him. "It's never felt like that before." She watched her fingers dance over his chest, rising up and down.

He looked over to her. "It's always that way for me. You were so beautiful in that moment."

She smiled a little and mumbled _thank you_.

After cuddling for a little while longer, and nearly on the edge of sleep, Quinn pulled herself from his bed to get dressed. It was a Tuesday night, school the next day, not to mention Artie's uncle usually dropped by on Wednesdays and Sundays (they picked up on his pattern), so Quinn needed to get herself and Sugar home. Sam pulled on his jeans while Quinn went to Artie's room to get Sugar after straightening her clothes. She returned to Sam's room and he motioned for her to sit with him on his bed. She sat on his knee, her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

"This was a great night. You know how much I love you, right?" he said to her.

She fingered the dainty heart necklace and kissed him. "I know it. And how I love you, Sam Evans," she replied quietly.

"I kinda hate to say this but it's their loss, ya know? They'll never to get to know the Lucy Quinn Fabray who I've come to know and love…their loss…" he said to her, hugging her close.

"Thanks Sam…" she said, thinking of how happy she was that the two Ivy League schools were out of the equation and she could focus on going to college in Cincinnati. He seemed more disappointed than she was but she wasn't going to let on that she really wasn't bothered by the Ivy League decisions.

They heard Artie and Sugar making their way through the house, but, when Quinn went to stand up, Sam tightened his grip around her waist and stopped her.

"Wait a second, I wanna ask you something," he said to her.

Quinn sat back on his knee and looked at him curiously. Sam took that as his cue to continue.

"Quinn, this summer, come to New York with me. I know that you may not be that upset about the schools, but I still want you to have some fun before you start college. We said that we would go sometime after Nationals and that would be the best time! Please, Quinn, say yes."

Quinn was shocked to say the least. She hadn't expected this. She turned in his lap so she could face him properly.

"Sam…what about Artie? And what about money? I can't ask you to use all your savings for a trip to a place that will always be there," she said, shocked.

Sam had expected this and already knew what he was going to say.

"Artie's parents are coming back for a couple weeks during the summer, so someone will be here to help him. And, I've been saving my allowances for awhile, so I'll have enough. I want to do this for us!"

Quinn could see how much he wanted this, and, quite frankly, she wanted it too. She also couldn't resist the look he was giving her, so she just gave in.

"Okay Sam, I'll come with you. We'll go to New York together!" Quinn said happily.

"Thank you Quinn!" Sam told her with just as much enthusiasm, leaning in to kiss her.

Sugar then popped her head into Sam's room, asking Quinn if she was ready to go, so they reluctantly got up from Sam's bed and also made their way to the front door. After a few more kisses and hugs, the girls hopped in Quinn's Volkswagen Bug and left for home.

"Did you two have a good night?" Artie asked Sam while Sam helped him go through the rest of his bedtime routine.

"Yeah, it was awesome…you?"

"Yep…"

Back in his room, Sam stripped out of his jeans and sat down on his bed, set his alarm. He saw the two rejection letters still sitting on his nightstand. He picked them up and put them in a desk drawer and crawled into bed, somewhat shocked that Quinn had been turned down but soon dreams of seeing New York City with her took over his sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 11**

While practicing their Regionals routine a couple weeks after Valentine's Day, Finn and Rachel announced to the group that they would be getting married as soon as their performance was over that day. They wanted everyone to "save the date" to be present at the courthouse to witness their nuptials. The bridesmaids' dresses were pink, Rachel had her dress picked out, Finn had his tux rented…they said they didn't want to waste anymore time _not_ being man and wife and decided to tie the knot that Saturday afternoon in mid March. Finn made some speech about living every day as if it were your last; Sam kind of tuned him out.

Somehow, Sam came to terms with Quinn not going to an Ivy League school and with her decision to go to the University of Cincinnati to pursue a teaching degree. The thought of her being a mere 4 hours away helped, but he still thought she should be going to a more prestigious school. He still had no idea what he was going to do after his senior year. Artie's parents had contacted them recently and told Artie that his father's tour would last at least 3 years total except for the time they'd be home through the summer. They were going to contact Sam's parents to make sure it was okay that Sam stayed with Artie through their senior year. He considered applying to the University of Cincinnati but felt a community college in Cincinnati would be more likely for him.

Since the New Directions had won Sectionals, they had "home court advantage" again and Regionals were to be held at McKinley High. The awards ceremony was set to happen around 3-ish so Finn and Rachel's wedding ceremony was set to begin around 4. Her two dads had pulled some strings and paid a judge to marry them on that Saturday, even though the courthouse was technically closed on Saturdays.

So, as the Regionals competition approached, things got a little crazy with everyone having a competition costume plus fancy duds to wear to the wedding. Not to mention actually having to rehearse their songs and performance in the days leading up to Regionals. Rachel, her typical type A self, was completely focused on both Regionals and her wedding to Finn, not letting anything get in her way. Finn pretty much followed her around, doing things as she asked. Quinn offered to help Rachel in any way possible, since that's what a bridesmaid did, and Rachel asked her to choose flowers, something pink and pretty, something for the girls and something for the boys to wear on their suits. Quinn did just that; she went to a flower shop and ordered a bouquet for Rachel consisting of different hues of pink flowers and smaller bouquets for the girls and pink sweetheart rose boutonnieres for the boys and Finn. Before finalizing the order, she texted a picture of the flowers to Rachel who approved. Even though she had originally been against the idea of Finn and Rachel getting married so young, the excitement building up to the wedding _was _infectious.

A couple days before Regionals/Finn and Rachel's wedding, the girls had a final dress fitting. Quinn actually liked her bridesmaid dress and thought the other girls looked equally as pretty. Rachel, though, looked gorgeous in her wedding gown. Actually trying on their dresses and seeing how pretty they all looked together caused a few tears to fall. Once they were changed back into their street clothes, Quinn pulled Rachel aside.

"I know I was a bitch about this wedding to begin with but I'm very happy for you and Finn. I've never seen you look so happy before, even on stage believe it or not, and I've changed my mind…this is the right thing for you two to do," Quinn said to her. She hugged her quickly. "I'm honored to be a part of your special day."

Rachel smiled at her. "That means so much to me, Quinn. I'm happy that you'll be there to share this with us."

"Tell me about your honeymoon plans…" Quinn said, picking up Rachel's hand as they walked to their cars, giggling.

At her Bug, Quinn put her black dress bag on the backseat and drove home. At her house, she took the dress to her bedroom and hung it on the back of her bathroom door. She then went to Artie's to hang out with Sam and Artie for awhile.

_xxxxx_

"Dinner smells delicious, Sam," she said after knocking and hearing Artie yell for her to come in. She said hi to Artie and found Sam in the kitchen.

"Thanks…I'm just trying something new. Chicken fajitas…" he said to her, flipping various things in hot skillets.

"Can I help?" she asked him. Walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"If you wanna get out the cheese and sour cream and guacamole and chips…that'd be cool," he replied, smiling at her. "How was the dress fitting thing?"

She kissed his shoulder before she started pulling items out of the refrigerator.

"It went okay...Rachel looked really pretty in her gown."

"I bet I know someone else who looked really pretty," he said, winking at her.

"I do like the pink dress…not sure when I'll ever wear it again, though," she said, laughing.

"It's hard to believe they're actually getting married Saturday. Sounds like they're ready though," Sam said. He called for Artie to come to the kitchen, that supper was ready. They prepared their plates and sat down to eat.

"Is Sugar excited about Saturday?" Quinn asked Artie. They were still dating pretty seriously.

"In her own way," Artie replied, chuckling. "I think this whole Finchel wedding thing is giving the other girls wedding fever."

"Now, Artie, don't generalize…I don't have wedding fever!" Quinn said, laughing yet blushing. She knew the other girls, Sugar included, were caught up in the romantic aspect of the upcoming nuptials.

"This is true, Artman, Quinn has not once hinted that she's expecting me to pop any questions," Sam added, laughing as well.

She gave Sam a sly glance and a smirk. "He'll know when the time is right."

He winked at her.

_xxxxx_

On Friday after school, the Glee Club ran through a dress rehearsal several times before calling it a night. Sam and Artie picked up fast food, and Quinn and Sugar met them at Artie's after rehearsal for supper. It had been a busy day with school, then dress rehearsal, and constant reminders from Rachel about the wedding and reception after the competition.

After eating, they retired to their separate rooms for the evening. Exhausted beyond belief, Sam set his alarm for the next morning, and he and Quinn fell sound asleep. The alarm sounded at 5:30 a.m., and they groggily pulled themselves awake and took a hot shower together. They had to be at the school by 7, so there was little time for fooling around but still they enjoyed some kissing and giggling and groping under the hot spray of water. After their shower, Sam helped Artie while Quinn and Sugar whipped up a quick and easy breakfast. Time slipped away from them, and suddenly they were rushing for the door at 6:55.

"Do you have my bowtie?" Sam asked.

"In your bag...I need to find my shoes!" Quinn said, hunting around his bedroom from where they dropped stuff the night before. "Found them!"

"Don't you need this?" he asked her, holding up a pink ribbon.

"Yes! Do you have my black dress bag?" she asked, hurriedly stuffing the pink ribbon in her bag of stuff but not noticing it fell to the floor.

"I think so..." he mumbled. He held up two black dress bags, their competition outfits. "Got 'em!"

She stood in the middle of his room, one hand on her hip and the other hand up to her chin, thinking. "I guess that's everything..."

They got to the school only a few minutes late. Everything was already chaotic, preparing for the visiting show choirs who would be arriving by 9. The kids were running around getting into their costumes, doing hair and makeup, warming up their voices and muscles while the band was tuning up and the stage crew was adjusting lights and sets. Even though Finn and Rachel were still planning on going through with their wedding following the award announcements, there was an unspoken agreement that there was to be no wedding talk before their performance that day so everyone was in the _zone_. The energy was electric in the auditorium.

At 9, the other choirs began arriving with the competition set to begin at 10 a.m. New Directions had drawn sixth out of ten choirs, so at 10 a.m. they took their seats in the auditorium to begin watching the five choirs before them. Sam and Quinn sat together, their fingers interlocked, nervously watching the other show choirs.

As the choir before them took the stage, the New Directions quietly filed backstage so they'd be ready to go on next.

"Nervous?" Sam asked her, holding both her hands, feeling a slight tremble.

"No...you?" she replied, smiling.

"Nope...I'm ready for this. We'll win and go to Nationals and then explore New York...I can't wait..." he said, pecking her forehead. "I love you, Quinn. Break a leg out there."

She giggled. "_Merde!_"

He looked confused. "What?"

She smiled slyly. "I'll explain later...it's about our turn."

He held her hand until they went on stage to start their performance.

The first song was a mashup of _I Believe I Can Fly/Fly_, where Sam and Quinn got to dance with each other. Judging by the applause, it was a solid performance. The girls from the Troubletones then performed _What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)_ and received a standing ovation. The third song was _Here's To Us_, with Rachel performing the solo. The boys sang from the balconies and again they received a standing ovation. Finishing their performance was always a great relief to them all, a weight off their shoulders, but they all were excited about their show and hoped it was received well by the judges. After calming down back stage, they returned to their seats in the audience to watch the last few choirs perform.

After all the choirs had performed, the top three were announced and asked to come to the stage. The Dalton Warblers and New Directions made the top three. Sam took Quinn's hand and went with the others back to the stage. They waited nervously for the announcement of first and second places; those two would go on to the national competition in Chicago. The choir from Columbus took third place, leaving only New Directions and the Warblers on stage. First place was finally announced…New Directions was the winner. The trophy was another large one; they shook hands and congratulated the Warblers who they would see again in Chicago. They took their celebration back to the choir room.

Everyone was excited and talking at once…about how great Rachel sounded, how great the Troubletones sounded, how the nerves got to some of them and they missed a cue or a step in the choreography. Mr. Schuester arrived with the trophy and they all cheered again. He gave them the judges' critiques of their performance. Rachel was totally entranced in what Mr. Schue was saying until an incessant poking at her shoulder tore her attention away from him. Finn whispered in her ear, and her face lit up.

"Mr. Schue, if I may, I have one hour to get to the courthouse to get married. Is it okay if I'm…" She looked at Finn and the rest of the room. "…_we're _dismissed?"

Mr. Schue laughed and told them to get to the courthouse on time. The room erupted again in frenzied talking and moving as the kids went this way and that to get ready to head to the courthouse. Sam took Quinn by the hand and followed Artie and Sugar to his car.

Sam got Artie into the passenger seat and Sugar slipped into the back seat but Quinn stood outside his car, her face scrunched up in thought.

"Hey Sam? I thought you said you got my black dress bag?" she asked him.

"Um, yeah, mine and your's…did I forget something?"

"No, no, I think I did…oh no!" she said, thumping the palm of her hand against her forehead. "I think my bridesmaid's dress is at my house!"

"Oh!" A look of surprise crossed Sam's face, then relief. "I'll just drop you off at your car and I'll get the three of us to the courthouse while you run home and change. I'll tell Finn and Rach you're on your way."

She threw her arms around him. "I think that'll work, Sam! I'll just hurry." She jumped into the backseat with Sugar, both of them giggling about her forgetting her dress in all the excitement.

The mood was light on the way to Artie's house where Quinn's car was. Sugar was changing there so Quinn was sure she had time to run to her house, then get to the courthouse.

"Just tell Rachel not to worry…it won't take me anytime at all…" she told Sam, kissing him a lingering kiss on the lips. "I'll be there soon."

"'Kay…be careful, Q, I love you," he said to her, shutting her car door and watching her pull away from Artie's driveway.

_xxxxx_

Quinn did rush home and quickly changed into her bridesmaid's dress. Looking in her mirror, she suddenly realized that she didn't have the pink ribbon in her hair but the black and red one from their competition.

"Damn!" she muttered, going through all her hair accessories trying to find something similar to the pink ribbon Rachel wanted the girls to wear. She remembered asking Sam about the pink ribbon so she knew it was either at Artie's or mixed into their competition stuff and she thought that stuff was in a duffel bag in Sam's trunk. She continued searching for a pink ribbon when her phone vibrated.

_Will you be here soon? _was the text from Rachel. It was 3:45…the wedding would start in 15 minutes.

_Leaving right now! _Quinn texted back, still searching for a pink ribbon. She finally pulled one out that resembled the other one and quickly changed the black and red ribbon with the pink ribbon. She quickly freshened up her makeup and perfume and touched the Sam's heart necklace. She grabbed her clutch and phone and ran out the door.

_xxxxx_

At the courthouse, Sam unloaded Artie, and along with Sugar they found the judge's offices where the wedding ceremony would take place. All the other guys were there, including Rachel's two dads and Burt Hummel, and all the other girls were there, including Carole Hudson-Hummel…except for Quinn. Finn looked nervous; Rachel was pacing the room, asking Finn for the time nearly every minute. At 3:55, she texted Quinn again.

_Are you close by? I need you here!_

Quinn's phone buzzed on the seat next to her. She picked it up, glancing at the message and groaning. The time on the clock in her car read 3:56.

_Shit shit shit_ she thought.

She started punching the letters out while watching the road.

_On_

"Sam, are you sure she said she'd be right here?" Rachel asked him.

"Yeah, she just needed to pick up her dress," he replied.

_my_

"Maybe we should go ahead and get started…" Finn said to her.

"No, I'm waiting on Quinn," Rachel said, firmly.

_way_

She glanced up at the intersection; she had the right-of-way; the other traffic had to stop. She pushed the accelerator just a bit more and hit send on her phone.

_xxxxx_

"Okay, okay…" Rachel said, looking at her phone, smiling. "Quinn just said she's on her way…whew…we can get started as soon as she gets here then."

There was a sigh of relief among those in the room. The girls clustered around Rachel, telling her how beautiful she was, in her one-of-a-kind though simple wedding gown, clutching her pink bouquet that Quinn had chosen. The guys huddled together around Finn…except for Sam who wandered off to a bank of windows in the large office. The windows looked down onto the main street, and he'd have a clear shot of Quinn arriving. He stood there and watched and waited.

Minutes, then more minutes passed by, until it was 4:20. Sam was still watching at the window, now worried about Quinn. It should've only taken her 10 minutes tops to get there from her house. Rachel had texted her again with no response. Finn again suggested they go ahead and start since the judge was clearing his throat and tapping his wristwatch.

Sam heard an ambulance siren wailing, then it passed under his window, heading away from town. Then, another ambulance. Then a fire truck and a police car, all with sirens on.

_Where is she?_ he thought, his brow furrowing. _She's gonna get caught up in all these cop cars and ambulances and…_

He suddenly had a very bad feeling come over him. He went to Finn and pulled him away from the guys.

"I'm gonna go check on Quinn…she would never be this late…" Sam said to him. "You and Rachel go ahead and get started. I'll check on Quinn."

"Okay, man, if you're sure…" Finn said but Sam was already running from the office to his car.

In his car, he unbuttoned his suit jacket and pulled his phone from his pocket. He sent Quinn a quick text: _I'm coming for you_.

He then fired up his car and followed the sounds of the sirens. He took the route that he was pretty sure Quinn would've taken to get to the courthouse.

Within five minutes, he came upon the fire truck and ambulances and police cars at an intersection. He saw smoke and a smashed up truck…and then his heart nearly stopped. He pulled his car to the shoulder haphazardly, threw it into park, and ran from it to the nearest officer he could find. All he could see was the hot pink Volkswagen Bug, torn in half in the intersection, a body bag on the ground, emergency workers milling around.

A police officer stopped him from going close to the wreckage. He couldn't form words. He kept pointing at the flowing piece of pink fabric, caught on the car wreckage.

"_Quinn_…my…my girlfriend…_Quinn_!" he choked out. He was nearing hysterics.

The man gripped his shoulders. "Okay son…look at me…_son_! Do you know either of the drivers of these vehicles?" The officer's eyes went to the pink rose boutonniere on Sam's lapel. "Do you know the female driver?"

"What? Female? Quinn…_Quinn Fabray_…the pink car…oh my god…Quinn…" Sam tried again to get past the officer. He couldn't take his eyes off that piece of pink fabric whipping around in the breeze and smoke and still spinning wheel of the car. He kept trying not to look at the body bag.

"Listen to me, son, can you identify her?" the officer asked him.

Dread crossed Sam's face. "Is she…did she…?"

"She's in the ambulance; she needs to be transported immediately. They just got her out of the car," the officer said.

Sam nodded. "Can I see her?"

The officer looked at him solemnly. "Son, it's been a horrific accident. There has been a fatality. The female's injuries are grave, I'm sorry to say."

Sam swallowed and held his breath. "Take me to her."

The officer sighed and pulled his radio from his belt. He said a few words to someone, then took Sam by the arm to one of the ambulances.

_Stay strong, Sam, stay strong for her…she needs you now…hold it together…_he kept pep-talking himself during the walk to the ambulance. As they neared the back of the truck, he could see two feet on the end of the gurney, one pink shoe on, one pink shoe gone, and so much blood, _too much blood_. He tugged on the officer's arm, stopping him.

"Is she…is she awake? Can she see me?" Sam asked him, nervously.

"She's slipping in and out. Is your name Sam by any chance?"

Sam nodded.

"She was saying your name when they pulled her from the car," the man said. "Are you sure you can do this?"

Sam glanced at her feet again and back to the man. He nodded.

"Okay…we just need a positive ID, then you can follow the rig to the hospital," the officer told him.

The officer approached the back of the ambulance and said a few words to the technicians working on Quinn. One of them asked to speak to Sam first. The officer pushed Sam closer to the ambulance.

"Son, your friend has been in a very severe MVA. From what we can tell, she has multiple broken bones, lacerations, possible internal injuries, but she's conscious and asking for Sam. We're stabilizing her now before we move to the hospital. She's suffered significant injuries but those will heal; try not to see those when you talk to her, just see _her_."

Sam nodded numbly. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. The guy offered him a hand and helped him up into the back of the ambulance.

He tried so hard not to stare and not to cry but it wasn't going to happen. The lights were bright in the ambulance, accentuating every bloody cut she had endured. Glass and blood were matted in her hair and in her skin. Her pink hair ribbon was still there but askew. She had been crying, tear streaks lined the dirt on her face. Her dress had been torn; he imagined that was the part he had seen still stuck to her car. She had an IV in her arm already and a tube in her nose and a cuff around an arm. She had a brace of some sort around her neck and a leg was already splinted, the dressing bloody near her ankle. There were bruises and cuts everywhere on her. He tried not to see all of them; he kept his eyes on her eyes…one of the few places on her body not injured.

"Qui-Quinn…" he whispered. "I'm here…"

Her eyes fluttered at the sound of his voice. More tears fell from her eyes but she said nothing. Her lips moved but no sound came out.

"Can you identify the victim, sir?" one of the technicians asked him.

Sam couldn't take his eyes off her. He nodded. The shiny heart necklace gave it away.

"Lucy Quinn Fabray…" he mumbled. He went on to give her address and birthday.

He found her hand lying limp on the gurney and held it in his own hand. Her hand was cool, streaked with blood. He heard one of the techs say she was stable and they were taking her to Lima Memorial. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. He watched her eyes flutter again and barely heard her say _Sam_ before they ushered him out of the ambulance.

He stood there at the scene, not knowing what to do. He looked at her car, split into nearly two pieces. The smashed truck was being loaded onto a tow truck; the body bag had been removed. People were cleaning up the debris already. He stood there wondering what the hell happened.

"Son, are you going to the hospital?" the original officer walked up to him.

"Uh, yeah, yes sir…" Sam answered, his voice shaky.

"You can take this to your friend; it's her purse and phone that we found at the scene," the man said. Sam took the pink purse and her phone.

He stood there not knowing what to do next.

"Son, can you drive yourself to the hospital?"

Sam looked at the man with no answer. The officer called for a deputy.

"Okay, I'll drive you to the hospital and Jay here will drive your car…is that okay with you?"

Sam nodded, feeling like a robot. He pointed out his car to the deputy, still sitting nearly sideways on the shoulder, still running.

"Let's go then…" the officer said, loading Sam into his cruiser.

On the ride to the hospital, Sam's emotions overwhelmed him and he found himself crying quietly into his hands. The officer noticed this and patted his back.

"I've seen much worse accidents with much worse results, son. With God's will, your lady friend will pull through. You be strong for her; she's gonna need you now, more than ever," the man said to him.

Sam sniffed, clutching her purse and phone still and mumbled a _thank you_.

The officer glanced at Sam again. He was huddled in the passenger seat, trying not to cry.

"So, this girl, she was your friend?" the man finally asked.

Sam looked up at him...his face swollen from the tears, his hair a mess.

"She's my everything," he replied simply and went back to clinging to her purse for dear life.

**A/N: Since they never really addressed this on the actual show, we thought we'd delve into this scene in this story. For some reason, it was pretty difficult to write and the next few chapters will be difficult also as she begins her recovery. Spoiler alert: I doubt she'll be walking in 2 weeks! Jeesh, really Glee?**


	12. Chapter 12

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 12**

He kept nodding off in a chair at her bedside but every time he did images of seeing her in the ambulance flooded his mind and he'd jerk awake, afraid to sleep, terrified to keep seeing her that way, swollen and bloody, her pretty pink dress torn and dirty. She now lay in a hospital bed in the intensive care unit, peacefully, cleaned up and bandaged, in a medically induced coma due to the extent of her injuries. On arrival to the hospital, her mother and sister had been notified and were also in the room on the other side of her bed. They had the lights down low and the only sounds were the beeping, the incessant beeping, of the monitors.

Once she was examined fully at the hospital, it was found that she had a broken collarbone, multiple broken ribs, her right wrist and ankle were broken, and there was damage to her neck, though they wouldn't know for sure the extent until she woke up. The fear was paralysis. The doctors told Sam and her mother and sister that she was extremely lucky to have survived the impact; the other driver collided with her car mere inches behind her driver's seat, nearly tearing her car in half. The impact had set off her airbags, causing swelling to her face but likely reducing the amount of injuries. Her car had rolled over, witnesses said. The other driver had been ejected from his truck and died on impact. It was later found out he was drunk and had run the stop sign at an excessive rate of speed. They had taken Quinn to surgery immediately, fearing she was losing blood internally. A broken rib had lacerated her spleen and it had to be removed. She had a lung contusion but otherwise miraculously escaped other internal injuries. After surgery, they left her sedated and on a ventilator. Those first few hours after getting to the hospital were a blur to Sam; he never could really recall what happened...he just knew he wound up sitting at her bedside and that was where he was staying until she opened her eyes.

He had handed over her purse and phone to her mother. The nurses had removed all her clothing and jewelry; Sam held the heart necklace in his hand as he watched over her. He wasn't even sure how their friends found out but soon the nurses whispered to him that they were in the waiting room if he wanted to see them. He told the nurse to tell them maybe later, he wasn't leaving her side.

When he'd jolt awake from another nightmare, he'd touch her hand, sometimes hold it in his, praying to God to heal her.

_xxxxx_

For three days, he sat next to her, only getting up to go to the bathroom. The nurses brought him things to eat and drink but he had no appetite. Quinn's mother told him he could go to Artie's, get some sleep and change of clothes-he was still in his suit for the wedding, but he politely declined her offer. That was the day Rachel begged Quinn's sister to let her come see her. She had also been at the hospital, in the ICU waiting room, since hearing of the accident...convinced it was her fault that it had happened. Finn had brought her a change of clothes; their wedding had been postponed.

She slipped into Quinn's room quietly, struggling to hold back sobs. Sam turned in his chair and when she saw him it all burst forth. He jumped from his seat and hugged her.

"I'm so sorry, Sam, so sorry...this is all my fault..." Rachel cried in his arms.

"It's not, Rach...stop saying that...it's not your fault, okay? Please...don't cry...c'mere..." He sat her down in his seat. "Talk to her. I know she'd want to hear your voice."

He stood back and watched Rachel hold Quinn's hand. He could tell Rachel was trying to be in control but was still whimpering. It was too much for him to take, so he took a brief walk down the hall to the waiting room. Finn sat in there, along with Puck, both of them looking lost.

"Dude, you look like shit," Puck said when Sam entered the room. "You need to take a break. Sitting at her bedside 24/7 isn't helping her...it's only making you sick."

"Shut up, asswipe," Finn mumbled to Puck. To Sam, he said, "She's stable, right? Why don't I drive you to Artie's so you can shower and change clothes and maybe eat something?"

Sam sat down in a chair across from them, feeling defeated. He knew he needed to change out of the suit; he smelled. He knew he needed to eat. He knew he needed to get in the shower. The thought of leaving the hospital..._oh my god, what if something happened to her while I'm gone?_...concerned him most.

"Listen, Rach can stay here...I'll run ya home and bring ya right back...dude, it's for your own good," Finn said to him.

Sam ran his hands through his hair and felt how greasy and nasty it felt. Resignedly, he sighed and stood up. "Fine...take me home."

"How's she doing, Sam?" Puck asked him.

"Still the same...they said if they woke her up she'd be in a huge amount of pain...might take her off the vent in a day or so and she if she can breathe on her own," Sam said, suddenly very tired.

Puck looked him up and down. "She'll be okay, man. She's a fighter."

Sam nodded a bit. "Yeah, she is…"

They walked back to Quinn's room to tell her mom and Rachel where they were going. Sam gently kissed Quinn's cheek before leaving with Finn.

_xxxxx_

Finn took Sam to Artie's and told him he'd hang out with Artie while Sam showered and ate and took a nap or whatever.

"Gosh, Artie, I'm so sorry I haven't been here for you," Sam said apologetically when he and Finn walked in.

"Dude, it's okay. Sugar's been helping me and Mike and Tina have been dropping by too…it's all good here. How's Quinn?"

Sam kind of shook his head, sat down, and rubbed his temples. "I don't know, man…we just don't know."

Artie powered over to him and rubbed his shoulder, feeling how tense he was.

"You need to get some rest, Sam. You look awful. You don't want her waking up and seeing this the first thing, do ya?" Artie ruffled Sam's hair, causing Sam to chuckle a bit.

"You're right, I know, it's just, just so hard to leave her side…if something happens to her I don't know what I'll do," Sam mumbled.

"Nothing is going to happen to her. They're watching her closely and she's healing. You wouldn't want to see her lying there in pain. Go get a hot shower, Sugar made some chili, and then get some rest," Artie told him.

Sam sighed and thanked him and headed off to the shower.

The hot water felt better than anything he had known recently. He stood under the stream, bracing his body against the wall, and let the water pour down him. Thoughts of Quinn flooded his mind; he couldn't stop thinking about her. It was then that he all the emotions finally broke loose and he cried for her and what she had to endure, what she was going to have to endure. He questioned God and why would He let something that awful happen to her? No answers came, just the hot steam surrounding him. When the water started cooling, he stepped out and dried off, suddenly exhausted.

He put on some clean shorts and a t-shirt and wandered out to the kitchen to eat some of Sugar's chili. It might've been the best chili ever; he didn't taste any of it, though. After a bowl of that and a peanut butter sandwich, he crawled into his bed and crashed hard.

His dreams were full of Quinn. Mostly good dreams of her…making out in his car, their first time, the time recently when he made her get on top of him…gradually, though, the dreams turned to nightmares. He kept dreaming the same sequence over and over…driving up to the scene of her accident, seeing her in the ambulance…even as he dreamed, his subconscious tried to rouse him awake to make him stop dreaming those images.

A sudden rapping on his bedroom door finally pulled him from the restless sleep.

"Sam! Sam! C'mon man, get up! The hospital called…Quinn's waking up!" Finn was blabbering.

Sam sat up, still dazed from his nightmares.

"Whu? Waking up? Wait…she's waking up? Oh my god, you gotta get me back there!" he said, coming to.

_xxxxx_

Back at the hospital, Sam rushed to Quinn's ICU room. Her mother, sister, and Rachel were clustered around her bed, a nurse was fiddling with the monitors.

Sam pushed his way past Rachel and Frannie and was never so relieved to see Quinn's pretty green eyes looking at him, a smile on her lips.

"Quinn?" he whispered to her.

"Hi Sam," she said, her voice hoarse. He hadn't even realized…the mask on her face holding the ventilator tube in place was gone…she was awake _and _breathing on her own. He picked up her hand gently.

"I'm-I'm sorry I was gone…"

"S'okay…"

He didn't know what to say to her so he just stared at her. The nurse told them that Quinn's throat would be sore for awhile and they were monitoring her closely to make sure she was holding her own but that she had tolerated the extubation very well. The nurse also said she was still requiring major doses of pain medicine.

He felt a chair behind him and sat down automatically. Until she felt well enough to talk, he'd sit there with her. Her sister was gently stroking her hair, and her mother held her other hand.

"What happened?" she whispered.

They all looked at one another. No one wanted to be the one to explain the seriousness of the accident to her.

"I hurt…"

It crushed Sam when her face scrunched up and tears began to fall down her puffy cheeks. He stood up and kissed her cheek softly.

"You're gonna be okay, Quinn," he said to her quietly.

Quinn's mother spoke up. "You were in a car accident...on the way to Finn and Rachel's wedding..."

"Ohhh..."

"You have some serious injuries, Quinn, that's why you hurt. It happened several days ago," her mother continued quietly.

Quinn looked confused. The room was quiet while she processed that information.

"What happened…to me?" she finally asked.

Her mother told her not to worry about that now, that she was on the mend and it was going to take some time. Quinn still looked confused and sad to Sam. He would've given anything to take her place.

"Did Finn…and Rachel…married?"

"No, sweetie…they put it on hold," her mother replied.

"Quinny, don't wear yourself out. Just rest," her sister said.

Quinn slowly and somewhat painfully turned her head to look at Sam. She smiled weakly and drifted off to sleep.

_xxxxx_

She was watched the next couple days in the intensive care unit before being moved to a regular bed. It was on the "transitional unit," where people just coming off an extended ICU stay went. After the TU, she'd be moved to the progressive care unit and hopefully start physical and occupational therapy.

When they had finally told her the extent of her injuries, she cried. She told Sam she felt useless and in constant pain. She seemed to slip into a depression, and her mother and sister thought that maybe seeing her Glee Club friends would cheer her up. They weren't allowed to visit her while she was in the ICU but now that she had moved to the TU she could have more visitors. Quinn had this feeling that the doctors were keeping something from her, something important. She felt sort of empty for some reason, and she had no idea why. All she knew is it was a different sort of pain and emptiness compared to the rest of her injuries from the accident.

Quinn's mother spoke to Sam about getting the Glee Club together to come and visit her, and Sam instantly agreed, as both of them were extremely worried about Quinn.

Sam sent out a mass text to everyone in Glee, and 20 minutes later Sam was meeting them out in the waiting room.

"Okay, when you guys go in, don't say anything about the way she looks. She seems to be in a state of depression, and we thought that a visit from you guys could help cheer her up," Sam told the group before he led them to her room. Rachel had been the only person, besides him and her family, to have actually seen Quinn since the accident, so she knew but the others didn't. Sam didn't want them to say something about the accident that would upset Quinn further.

The group all agreed to keep away from that topic, and they were on their way. Sam opened Quinn's door after knocking and gave her a big smile. She smiled back at him, a smile sort of forced, but better than the ones that she had recently been giving to him and her mother.

Her smile widened when she saw the Glee Club. Sam silently cheered because so far the plan was working. This was the happiest Quinn had been in days.

"Sup MILF! How ya feeling babymama?" Puck asked. Sam rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. He knew the two were close, and they had a weird relationship, but he also knew that that was all it was, a friendship.

"Hello to you too, Puckerman. I've been better, but something about getting slammed by a truck seems to do that to you!" Quinn joked back.

The group of teens chuckled at that. Same old Quinn it seemed, always trying to lighten up serious situations.

"If I didn't know any better Q, I'd say that you were never in a horrible accident and just had major surgery!" Santana joked. "But I am glad that you're okay! Trouty Mouth over here was depressing everyone with his mopey mood!"

Quinn actually laughed, the first in ages. Sam thought it was literally angels singing, that sweet sound that came from her mouth. Sam was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even retort to Santana's dig at him.

The group visited for about an hour before they were asked to leave so that Quinn could rest. The whole time that their friends visited, Sam couldn't take is eyes off of Quinn. She was sincerely happy for the first time in ages, though some of it was forced he could tell. Sam knew that it would take time before she was perfectly back to normal again, but he promised himself, and her, that he would be there the entire way, by her side and never leaving.

After they had all said goodbye, Quinn turned her head and looked at Sam tiredly. Sam took her hand and smiled at her.

"Rest baby. You need your strength. I'm right here and I'm not leaving," he said quietly.

Quinn smiled and gripped his hand. "Sing to me?"

"Of course," Sam replied and started to softly sing _Lucky _to her. Sam watched as she drifted into a restful sleep, her eyelids fluttering closed and her breathing evening out.

_xxxxx_

When she awoke a few hours later, she was alone, but not for long. Soon, Sam walked back into the room, giving her a small smile. She smiled back, though it was hard because even though she was on a ton of painkillers, she could still feel some of the pain. Well, pain everywhere else except for her legs but she didn't think too much about that.

Sam sat down on one side of her and picked up her hand.

"Hey…how're you feeling?" he asked her, his voice low and deep. She could hear the tiredness in his voice.

"Better. The sleep helped. You sound and look tired though," Quinn pointed out. "When was the last time you slept in a proper bed for a full night?"

"Umm…the night that you woke up. But don't worry…I'm fine. I can't sleep with you here anyway," Sam told her, shrugging it off.

Quinn felt bad though. He had been here the whole time she had been admitted to the hospital, and he looked truly exhausted.

"Sam, go home and go to sleep. I'm alright here. I want my boyfriend to be alive and well, not half dead and zombie looking. Come back tomorrow after you have had a good night's rest!" Quinn told him.

Sam just nodded, knowing that he would and always will do anything that she told or asked him too.

They conversed for a few more minutes before Quinn forced him to go home. Before he could leave, though, the doctor walked in, and Quinn grabbed his hand and told him to stay.

"Miss Fabray, how are you feeling this evening?" the doctor asked her.

"A bit better…still kinda tired and painful though," she replied.

He sat down in a chair on the other side of her bed and glanced at Sam.

"I needed to discuss an issue with you. It's a personal issue…if you'd rather be alone…" He again glanced at Sam.

She looked at Sam also, a worried look on her face. "Sam can stay."

The doctor flipped her chart open to a certain page marked with a tiny red flag.

"When you were admitted, we ran a battery of tests on you…x-rays and blood work…which is how we found the spleen laceration and needed to proceed urgently to surgery. The blood work, though, returned a finding that you need to know about."

Sam and Quinn looked at one another.

"Per protocol, we always check women of childbearing age for pregnancy before giving any anesthetic agents or proceeding to major surgery. Your pregnancy test was positive, Miss Fabray. The level was still fairly low, putting you at 4-6 weeks pregnant. However, the spleen injury was life-threatening to you, and your mother consented to proceed with the surgery. The anesthetic agents given to you terminated the pregnancy, unfortunately. Even if no surgery was done, the pregnancy would not have survived as the bleeding would've caused your demise," the doctor told them.

Sam squeezed her hand, standing to kiss her cheek where silent tears fell.

"Again, I'm very sorry for your loss. Is there anything else that you were concerned about?" the doctor asked the quiet pair. For Quinn, it was just too much to process at the moment, too overwhelming for her.

"Um…I was wondering when the pain killer effect was going to wear off because I wanted to start walking around but I can't seem to feel my legs," Quinn told the doctor. What she didn't expect was the look that Sam and the doctor shared. Sam looked back at her, a look of what she suspected was pity on his face.

"What? What is going on? Sam tell me!" Quinn said to Sam desperately.

"Quinn…you can't feel your legs because you were paralyzed from the waist down in the accident," the doctor replied hesitantly.

Quinn closed her eyes, willing herself to be taken from the room that instant.


	13. Chapter 13

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 13**

The doctor left Quinn's room. She and Sam sat in silence for some time. She glanced over at him, sitting at her bedside, his head in his hands. She had stopped crying some time ago.

"Why me?" she croaked, barely audible.

He looked up at her, exhausted, his eyes red. "What?"

"Why me? Why did this happen to _me_?" she asked again.

"I'm sorry…"

"No…you shouldn't be sorry, Sam…you're the only good in my life right now…"

"I was a father…" he mumbled, looking at his hands, pushing at his cuticles.

"What?"

He looked up at her and smiled a bit. "I was a father."

She sniffed again. "That's so sad. I can't focus on that right now."

He squeezed her hand. "I know, Quinn…I'm sorry…it's just…I had no idea…"

"Me either."

They were both silent again. Sam rubbed his thumb along Quinn's hand, thinking of what the doctor had said to them.

"So, I guess your mom knew about it then?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I guess…"

More silence.

"Are we telling anyone else?" he asked her.

"I don't think we should," she said, sniffing again.

They sat there quietly again, not knowing what to say to one another. Finally, Quinn yawned.

"Sam, you can go home and rest…"

"No, I'll stay…"

"I kinda just wanna be alone for awhile…" she said quietly.

"Oh…okay…" He stood up and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek and then wrapped her in his arms. "We'll figure this out, right?"

He felt her nod against his shoulder. "Yeah…we will…"

_xxxxx_

Quinn was moved to the progressive care unit after a few more days on the TU. Her abdominal incision was healing, and they wanted her to start working with physical therapy to determine the full extent of her paralysis. Sam was with her every day after school but could tell she was depressed about her situation.

"Did you work with PT today?" he asked her a couple weeks after she had been moved to the new room.

"No…I was too tired…"

"Quinn, you know what they told you…if you don't start moving your leg muscles, they'll weaken and…"

"I know Sam!" she snapped. "I know what they said! My leg muscles are _not _going to move…not now, not ever! Why can't anyone understand that?"

She turned away from him as much as possible. He felt like shit for pushing her like he did and causing that outburst.

"Quinn, I'm just trying to help you…"

"Just go Sam, please…I don't wanna see you right now," she mumbled, crying.

He turned and left her room. He found her mother and sister in the waiting room on the floor.

"She's upset. She said she didn't do PT today. I'm not sure what to do," he said after sitting down with them.

"They came in to see her today to fit her for a wheelchair," her mother said quietly. "It really hit home for her…that she can't walk."

"Oh my god," Sam said. "She didn't tell me…"

Frannie got up and moved closer to Sam. She touched his shoulder lightly.

"Sam, you've helped her so much. She's got to come to terms with this and she's bound to lash out…at all of us. Me and mom were wondering, maybe your friend Artie could come talk to her, you know, about what it's like to be in a chair and how he learned to deal with it and get around and stuff," she said.

Sam sighed. "I'm sure Artie would do anything to help her…would she listen to him though? I think he was pretty young when he had his accident…it's kinda something he's always lived with. I'll ask him, though, if you think it'll help Quinn," he told them.

"We'll try anything…anything…to get her back, to get her to fight for herself," Judy said. "After the wheelchair fiasco today, they sent a counselor to see her. That didn't go well either."

"She's had a rough day then…" Sam said, summing it up. He stood up. "I'll go see her to tell her goodnight…she didn't even want to see me earlier. I'll talk to Artie also."

"Thank you, Samuel," Judy said, hugging him before he returned to Quinn's room.

She appeared to be sleeping when he walked in, lying still with her eyes closed. He sat down next to her.

"Hello Sam," she said, her eyes still closed.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked.

"You make a ton of noise and you sat in your regular chair," she replied flatly.

He stood up and touched her arm. She recoiled a bit but then softened at his touch.

"I'm really sorry you had a shitty day, Quinn. It'll get better…"

"No," she chuckled. "No, it won't."

"I believe it will. I know you and I know how strong you are, Quinn Fabray. I'll be back here every day to see you, whether you like it or not, and we'll figure this out. I'm going back to Artie's now to give you some space…I'll be thinking of you tonight, all night, and I promise I'll see you tomorrow and every day after tomorrow." He kissed her softly on the cheek, a single tear streaming beneath his lips. He stood up, sighed, and left her room.

_xxxxx_

"Apparently she's depressed or pissed off or something," Sam said to Artie later on that night.

They were playing a new video game Artie's parents had sent to him. Sam wasn't paying a lot of attention to the game but Artie let it slide.

"Yeah, there are like stages people go through…that's what they told me one time…and it's what Kurt went through when his mom died," Artie told him.

"Like what stages?"

"Gah, I can't remember them all, like depression, anger, acceptance…you'll have to look 'em up, dude, sorry," Artie said. "It'll be hard for her but she'll figure out a way to deal with it."

"Thanks, man, I appreciate it," Sam said, then took a deep breath. "Quinn's mom kind of wanted me to ask you something."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"She thinks it might help Quinn if you come talk to her, you know, about dealing with the wheelchair and stuff." Sam told Artie what Quinn's mom had told him about Quinn not taking to the notion of a wheelchair.

"Wow…I'd love to see her, like, when she's ready…I doubt she'd be too receptive to anything I have to offer right now. You'll know when she's ready, when she's ready to accept what her life is going to be like from now on…it's a tough situation, Sam, and I hate to see her in it…I'd hate to see anyone in that situation," Artie said. "I know it's hard on you too, it's obvious, dude. You've got to be her support, though, even though it might seem like she hates you some days…you've gotta be there for her."

Sam nodded.

"Is it permanent? The paralysis? Or do they think she'll regain any feeling back?" Artie asked.

"No one has really said anything. They want her to start physical therapy, but she's kinda being stubborn about it," Sam said, jabbing at the controller in his hands.

"It takes time…she'll come around. I've known Quinn for a long time and girlfriend's a fighter," Artie said, smiling at Sam.

"I know…it's so hard seeing her hurt…" Sam mumbled. "Thanks…"

_xxxxx_

Sam did do some research, online and then at the library. He learned that Quinn was probably experiencing the five stages of grief, on top of working through her lingering pain from the accident. Of course, nothing was cut and dried or fell into order…every day was different.

Slowly, she started with physical therapy. Her doctor told her that the only way she could be released to home was to start working in physical therapy to gain the strength she needed to maneuver a wheelchair and help her caregivers at home. When Sam saw her after physical therapy, she'd usually be angry, mad about being hit by the guy in the truck, pissed that she couldn't feel her legs but everything else hurt, angry at God. Some days she'd be in denial that she was paralyzed, that her condition was as bad as it seemed. The worst of those times was when she'd try to lift each leg to the side of her bed and then try to stand up. More than once he had had to pick her up from the floor, where she lay crying, and get her back into her bed. One stage she didn't exhibit too much was bargaining. Some days she'd have suggestions for the doctors to try, she'd try anything to try to make the paralysis go away or lessen. Usually, that stage would cross into depression, when she'd be sad and question if there was anything she could've done differently that day to avoid the circumstances that she now faced. Sam waited patiently for acceptance to start appearing.

In the meantime, though, he asked Quinn if he could accompany her to her physical therapy sessions when he could. She agreed to that. At the same time, she also said the counselor she had been seeing requested that he join some of her sessions. Quinn said she was trying to work through her feelings about the miscarriage and asked if he needed any help in that respect, since he was the father. It surprised him a little, but he agreed to go because, yeah, it had been playing on his mind. He had had no one to talk to about it as she had shut down on that topic of conversation the night they found out about it.

When Sam joined her the first time for physical therapy, he felt more overwhelmed than she did. He was comfortable in a gym around the equipment, but, with Quinn's lower extremities, it was hands on work, or passive range of motion the therapist told him. He moved her legs at the hip joints, knees, ankles, and even toes to work her muscles. He said it was a good thing that Quinn had been in excellent shape at the time of the accident; it should make maneuvering in a wheelchair and transfers from the chair to bed easier. He still had her do upper body strengthening, though, since she had been in the hospital going on three weeks. Once Sam felt comfortable with the exercises, he'd work one side of Quinn while the therapist worked the other side. Then, while Quinn did her bicep curls and French curls and worked on her shoulders, Sam would lift weights too and talk with her. When he admitted that the first time helping her was overwhelming, she smiled.

"Why the smile?"

"I don't know…just, it's so much easier with you helping," she admitted. "I think I'm gonna try something."

Sam was intrigued and set his weights down. "What?"

"Instead of a motorized chair, I think I'm gonna go with a manual one…" she told him.

He was a bit shocked. "Really? That's awesome! You will have a pair of guns bigger than mine!"

She laughed, and he felt some stress finally lift from his shoulders.

"I think it'll push me to keep strong," she said. "I haven't tried one yet, so we'll see…it's just something I thought I'd maybe try."

"You do realize that if you go that route and you're having a rough day I'll be your motor, right?" he asked her, winking.

She smiled and blushed a little. It was like he was flirting with her. Recently, she had had concerns floating around her mind, wondering if he'd still see her as a whole woman since she had no use of her legs. Even sex had crept into her thoughts…she wasn't even sure she could do that anymore. It was something she planned on talking to her therapist about eventually.

"Yeah, I know…"

_xxxxx_

Sam was a little nervous to meet Quinn's counselor, the one who handled her mental health issues. He knew they'd been talking about her accident, the paralysis, how she was going to manage at home and at school, and the pregnancy loss. He had never talked to a counselor before so wasn't sure what to expect.

Her office was in the hospital, so he stopped to say hi to Quinn then went to his appointment. He was meeting with her the first time alone. He sat in a small waiting room and flipped through an ancient magazine without looking at the pages. She finally appeared and called his name.

She was shorter than him, a slim blonde-haired lady, young, with a nice smile. He followed her back to her office, the name _Ms. Cynthia Aspin-Maryk _on the door. She introduced herself to Sam, telling him to call her Cindy. Her office was spacious, comfortable, relaxing. She had heavy drapes pulled across the windows and only one lamp on. Two comfy chairs faced her desk, then there was a couch to one side of the room and a wall of bookshelves to the other side of the room. She told him to sit wherever he felt comfortable so he chose to sit at one end of the couch.

"First of all, Sam, it's nice to finally meet you. Quinn has told me lots of great things about you and her relationship with you. She said that through her ordeal with the accident you've been one constant in her life that hasn't changed," Cindy started off telling him.

He smiled at the thought of Quinn and thanked the counselor. She had a notebook and pen in her hand and rolled her chair out from behind her desk to be closer to Sam's position on the couch.

"A little bit about myself: I'm new to Lima Memorial Hospital. I just finished my degree last year so I've been working as a counselor for the last year, mainly with teens and young adults. I'm also newly married, still getting used to my last name (she laughed a little). Quinn's case interests me due to the obstacles she has to overcome. I felt that due to the special circumstances of Quinn's case it would be beneficial to see you, as well, regarding the loss of her pregnancy and how the future looks for her. Any questions?"

He felt at ease with her and could only think of one thing off the top of his head.

"Do my parents need to know about this?"

"Your visits will be covered under Quinn's insurance, kind of a joint counseling situation. No, your parents will not be notified unless you want them to know," she replied.

"I don't think I'm ready to tell them about Quinn being pregnant," he said, twisting his fingers together in his lap.

"Everything is confidential in this office. You and Quinn have been in a long-term relationship for some time now, I gather," Cindy said.

"Uh, yeah, a couple years, I guess, off and on a little," he answered.

"And neither one of you were aware of the pregnancy until after the accident?"

"I didn't know about it...we're usually super careful," he mumbled.

"I know you've had a lot on your plate recently with Quinn's accident and the news of the pregnancy termination. If there's anything you'd like to discuss about it, privately, you're free to do so here," she said to him.

"It was just kind of a shock, you know, to find out she was pregnant, and then not pregnant, all at once. I really haven't even had time to think about it yet," he said. "I mean, in a way it was kind of exciting, you know, to think I was gonna be a dad but then it was kinda scary too...like how would I support a baby?"

"Those are legitimate feelings to experience. Quinn is going to need your support more than ever in the upcoming weeks and months. However, you'll need her support too."

"It kinda made me mad, that she was in that accident...it's taken so much from her, and me," he said quietly. "I mean, does that guy who hit her _know _what he did? He probably went straight to hell so there's no chance he'd see our baby in heaven..."

Sam shook his head, still wringing his hands. "It's her senior year...she's going to college...he took so much from her!"

He suddenly pounded his fist on the arm of the couch. "It's not fair!" He surprised himself with his outburst of emotion. He rubbed his knee with his other hand, willing the stupid hot tears from falling down his face. Somehow, Cindy must've anticipated this because she passed him a box of Kleenex.

"She was gonna have a chance to be a mom again..." he mumbled. "Now, she can't walk. It's just not fair..."

He blew his nose into a Kleenex, feeling like a big baby for crying in front of a complete stranger.

"Sam, all your feelings are totally justified. You need to get them out and get past them to help Quinn recover," Cindy said, an even tone to her voice. "We are all so sorry for your loss."

It was the first time anyone had acknowledge _his _loss. Of course, not very many people knew but still he was mourning something he didn't even know he had had.

They talked a little bit more about what he could expect with Quinn's recovery and then they set up a date for him and Quinn to visit Cindy together. He returned to see Quinn after his appointment.

"What did you two talk about?" she asked him.

"Um, not much, I guess...just stuff," he replied, standing next to her, playing with the edge of her blanket.

"Me?"

"A little, yeah," he said. "She set up an appointment for both of us to go see her next week...is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," she said. "Did you talk about the baby?"

"A little..."

"So did I...it's kinda just now hitting me..."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked her.

"Not right now, no," she said. "It's just too much..."

"Yeah, I know..."

Awkward silence.

"Can I hug you, Quinn? I really need a hug right now..." he finally eked out.

She held her arms up to him, and they embraced one another tightly for some time. Eventually, he crawled into her bed next to her and held her until they both fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

**Let Me Hold You**

**Chapter 14**

"C'mon, Quinn, you can do it! Push it!" he practically yelled at her in the physical therapy gym at the hospital. He stood at the top of a ramp, looking down at her.

She was in a manual wheelchair, finally having been fitted for one, and was working on pushing herself up the ramp. She rolled back down, sighing and sweating.

"God Sam, I can't! My arms aren't like yours!" she practically yelled back at him.

"I have never seen you back down from something, Quinn Fabray..._ever_! You can get up this ramp...I know you can and you know you can too! Like Artie said, build up a little speed before attempting..."

She groaned. "I _know _what Artie said, dammit!"

She backed herself up and tried to gain some momentum before tackling the ramp again. She could move around very well on flat surfaces...the ramps were going to be the death of her, she was pretty sure. Surely, she could push her 110 pounds up that thing. Of course, the chair itself weighed 50 pounds, but when she was a Cheerio she could easily bench press 160 pounds. She made it halfway before tiring and rolling back down.

"You just gotta keep trying, Quinn. They said it won't happen in one day...you've gotta build up your endurance..."

"I've got to do this to be able to go home! I've _got _to!" she hissed at him again. He didn't care...he wanted to see that fire in her.

She recalled what Artie told her, that pushing one's self up a ramp in a heavy piece of equipment took some practice but she'd get it. Also, it was a lot different than bench pressing but he assured her that that was a good start...the strength in her upper arms. This was her third day of trying to conquer the ramp. Her doctors had told her if she could get herself up the ramp in her chair she could go home...and she was more than ready to go home. She knew her mother had set up the guest bedroom on the main floor of their home for her and Sam and the other Glee guys had built a ramp from the garage into the house after a contractor had come in and widened the door opening there and connected the guest room with the bathroom. He actually had to use part of the guest room to enlarge that bathroom but her house was ready for her. She was so tired of hospital food and the room she was in. It had been 6 weeks since her accident.

She rolled around the gym floor a bit and headed toward the ramp again. Two-thirds of the way up before she slowly let herself roll backward. Sam was cheering.

"You know, they built this thing super steep…the ones outside of the hospital gym are not nearly as bad…like the one at your house…easy peesy, girlfriend," Sam said to her as she huffed and puffed around the gym again.

She hit the ramp going fast and pushed the wheels and her weight up the ramp. Her front wheels reached the top but she just didn't have the energy or strength to push herself up all the way. She rolled back down and sat at the bottom of the ramp, her head hanging.

Sam walked down the ramp to her and knelt in front of her.

"Please don't cry, Quinn. You're doing a great job…you've almost got it," he said quietly, no longer yelling at her. He took her hands in his, noticing that even though she wore the gloves Artie got her she still had calluses forming.

"Let's call it a day and go back to your room and I'll give you a massage…how does that sound? You've earned it, Quinn," he said to her, slipping his face up to hers to kiss her salty tears.

"I did almost do it, didn't I?" she asked, sniffing and smiling.

"Yes, you did, and I think that calls for a massage and maybe some ice cream," he said, smiling back at her.

"My arms are killing me," she said, chuckling.

"Then allow me…" he said, standing up and getting behind her.

He pushed her to her room and helped her transfer to her bed. She called the nurse for ice cream while Sam got the lotion. She stripped off her top so that she was in her sports bra and let him rub down her shoulders and arms and hands. He then massaged her legs for her until the ice cream arrived. He propped up her pillows and fed her bites of ice cream to allow her arms to rest. He figured it was the least he could do.

_xxxxx_

"Quinn, how do you feel about the loss of your pregnancy?" Cindy asked her.

She shrugged, her arms crossed in front of her. "I didn't even _know_ I was pregnant again. I've just tried not to think about it."

"Is it something you want to prevent from happening in the near future?"

Quinn shrugged again. "Listen, I got pregnant when I was much younger and gave that child up for adoption. What happened between me and Sam was an accident...we didn't even _know _about it! I really don't think we could handle a baby of our own at this point, especially with the way I am now."

Sam glanced over at her. She was pouting.

"If Quinn hadn't had been in an accident, I'm sure we would've made it work somehow," Sam added.

"And how would you support a child, Sam?" Quinn asked. He had a feeling he was incurring Bitch Quinn at the moment.

"I'd figure out a way...I'd want the baby...you wouldn't?" he asked, playing her game.

"I never said I wouldn't want your baby...just not _now_," she replied. "We're both still in high school, for Pete's sake!"

"Even though we screwed up, I wouldn't call that baby an _accident_," he retorted. "I'd like to be a dad, whether it's now or in the future."

"Well, that's what it was, an _accident_..." Quinn said quietly, turning slightly away from Sam. He heard her sniff and then he felt bad. "There is just no way I could go through giving up another baby for adoption."

He didn't say anything.

"That's the only way I can deal with it, okay?" she said, now full-on sobbing. "I would've wanted it too, Sam, but how am I supposed to deal with that plus this?" She slammed her fists down on her legs. "Even if the baby had survived, I could've never taken care of it, not in that stupid ass chair." She shot a look full of hate toward her wheelchair across the room.

He slowly put his arm around her and she curled into his side, still crying. He kissed the top of her head, whispering to her.

After that session, Quinn was as exhausted as if she had been trying to get up the ramp. All she wanted was to lay in her bed and sleep. Sam stayed with her as long as he could, then had to return to Artie's to help him. He told Artie a little about the emotional session with Cindy. He decided he needed to talk to someone else, impartial, about what only him and Quinn knew.

"Wow...that's a lot to deal with," Artie said, once Sam spilled all the beans. "No wonder she's kinda stressed out."

"I think she's been blocking out the fact she was pregnant and lost it with the paralysis issue...it all kinda came out today at the counselor's office," Sam said. "She was upset about it...I hope it doesn't set her back...she's been doing so damn good in that chair."

"When is she planning on coming back to school? Or has she said?" Artie asked him.

Sam shrugged and sighed. "She just wants to get home right now. It just feels like, like I can't get close to her...almost like she's blocking _me _out."

"Dude, she's had to process so much in a very short amount of time. She'll come around. Just don't give up on her."

That was the last thing Sam was going to do.

_xxxxx_

In a week, Quinn had pushed herself up the ramp several times on her own. The physical toll it took on her body was incredible. She had not even thought about getting around at school or out in the public. Her mind was set on getting home. Thankfully, Sam had been bringing her school work to her in the hospital so she was pretty much caught up with what she had missed and she also needed to start thinking about college and how was she going to maneuver around the campus of the University of Cincinnati?

She had also noticed a growing distance between herself and Sam, since their talk with Cindy about the pregnancy loss. She still didn't want to think about it. She met with Cindy before leaving for home one final time.

"Is there anything else you may have concerns about, Quinn?" Cindy asked her.

Quinn fiddled with her hands in her lap. "Um, me and Sam, we just don't seem…as _close_…as we once were…you know…"

Cindy looked at her, watching a blush creep up her cheeks. "Do you mean intimately?"

Quinn looked up, surprised. "Yes! I just don't know how he feels about this…" She gestured down toward her paralyzed legs. "I'm guessing this is a turn-off for him."

Cindy rummaged around in some files, pulling out some brochures and handed them to Quinn.

"There is some information about support groups for ladies in chairs and they discuss such issues. Have you talked to Sam about it?"

Quinn shook her head. "No…I don't even know how to bring it up."

"If it's something you feel comfortable about, then you need to talk to him about it. Chances are, he doesn't know how to broach the subject with you," Cindy told her. "Keep the lines of communication open with him."

"Thanks for the information," Quinn said, glancing at one of the papers titled _Wheelchair Love: Sexuality When Paralyzed_. She sighed. "I'll call if I need to schedule another time to see you."

"You do that, Quinn, and Sam too if he wants to talk…I'll be here," Cindy said warmly, hugging Quinn goodbye.

Later, in her hospital room, her mother and sister were bustling about, packing her belongings and getting instructions from the nursing staff. Quinn had not seen Sam that day even though he knew she was going home. Her mom and sister said he hadn't been by and they didn't know where he was.

_Lines of communication, my ass! I can't talk to him if he's not here!_ she thought, letting herself get angry but then reminded herself that she would be home soon, not in her normal bedroom but at least at home!

The nurses who had grown accustomed to caring for Quinn hugged her goodbye and helped her mother load her in her newly acquired van. The van was not yet equipped with a wheelchair lift but would be soon. Quinn sat in the passenger seat and it felt odd to her to be out of her chair, out in public, going home.

"Can you drive by Artie's? I was just wondering if Sam was there," Quinn asked her mother.

Her mother sighed but drove down Artie's street. Sam's old car was in the driveway. Quinn sat tightlipped the rest of the way to her house, which was just a couple blocks over.

Her mom pulled the van into the garage, and Frannie hopped out to get the wheelchair unfolded and Quinn into it.

"The ramp looks nice," Quinn said, noticing it going from the garage into the kitchen. She rolled up to it, gaining speed, and easily sped upward. Like Sam had told her, it was not nearly as steep as the one she practiced on at the hospital. Her mother and sister followed her into the kitchen.

"Why don't you go to the family room, Quinny, while we get the rest of your things?" her mother said. Quinn found that request odd but headed that way.

The room was darkened, and Quinn stretched to flip the switch. The room filled with light and voices.

"Surprise!" all her friends shouted. She jumped in her chair, she was so shocked.

"Welcome home, beautiful!" Sam said, rushing up to her to hug her. She laughed.

"So, this is where you were?"

"Yep! Your mom and sis did a good job keeping the secret!" he said, smiling broadly. He appeared proud of himself for pulling off the surprise welcome home party for Quinn. He kissed her quickly on the cheek. "We have cake and stuff…c'mon!"

Quinn smiled and laughed, for awhile nearly forgetting she was in the wheelchair. Her friends had brought her fun gifts of nail polish, makeup, perfume, romance novels, funky jewelry, anything to cheer her up. They had cake and ice cream and punch (Quinn kind of felt like it was her birthday) and her friends caught her up on the gossip at McKinley and what the Glee Club was preparing for Nationals.

When they mentioned Nationals, her smile sort of froze in place…she had completely forgotten about the upcoming competition. Sam seemed to notice her stiffness and sudden quietness and suggested they all get together soon again since Quinn needed to get settled into her new digs.

The kids all hugged her goodbye and finally the house was fairly quiet again, only Quinn, Sam, her mom and sister remaining. Quinn maneuvered herself to her new bedroom and tried out the bathroom using her transferring skills (from wheelchair to toilet and back again) while Sam brought in her belongings and began unpacking her stuff in her room.

She came out of the bathroom and saw him taking stuff out of a bag.

"Sam, it's okay, I can do that stuff later…I'm just kinda tired now," she said, sounding more downtrodden than tired to him.

He stopped what he was doing, suddenly feeling like he was invading her personal space. "Oh, well, yeah, sure…it's been a big day for you. Uh, do you need me to stick around? I'd really like to…"

"Actually, I'm just kinda worn out…thank you for the party…it was wonderful. I just need some rest, I think," she said quietly, wheeling over to him.

He bent down to kiss her and hugged her tightly.

"Can I come by tomorrow?" he asked, feeling an all together different vibe from her.

"Um, I'll call ya and let ya know how things are going…it's an adjustment…that's what Cindy said," Quinn told him, staring at her hands in her lap.

"Oh, yeah, sure…um, okay…I'll talk to ya tomorrow then," he said, kissing her again. "I love you, Quinn." He looked her in the eye when he said that.

"I love you too, Samuel," she whispered back, glancing away at the last second.


End file.
